This Is Home
by JustASmallTownGirl123
Summary: A year has passed since they brought Tali home and now the team faces a new challenge as the DiNozzo family prepares for the arrival of a new family member and when Tali catches the eye of an older guy at school secrets and scars from Israel are revealed. Sequel to 14 Years.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everybody! I'm soooo glad to be starting the sequel to 14 Years and I hope you will enjoy this story. If you haven't read the epilogue to 14 Years that I posted to replace the non-epilogue than you will be completely lost because this first chapter picks up right where that left off. So, without further ado here is the first chapter of This is Home.**

* * *

Chapter One

Ziva groaned as she rolled over in bed, flailing her arm about on the bedside table until the incessant beeping of the alarm finally shut off. She rolled back over and snuggled into her husband allowing them both five more minutes of sleep, because she knew they both hated Monday's. After a few minutes Tony stirred and turned over so he was facing her.

"Morning Sweetcheeks." He smiled warmly at her and planted a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled back at him and was about to reply when her stomach lurched and she ran into the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time. As she emptied her stomach of last night's dinner she felt her dark curls being pulled away from her face and soothing circles made their way across her back. When she was done, Tony handed her a cup of water that she used to rinse the taste out of her mouth and then she laid herself down on the floor, the cool tile relaxing her immensely. She closed her eyes for a minute allowing the dizzy feeling to dissipate and when she opened them she had to laugh at the sight in front of her.

Tony had joined her on the floor, his face was pressed against the tiles and he looked confused at her laughter. "What's so funny?"

She smiled widely at him, "I just didn't expect you to be laying there when I opened my eyes."

"I didn't want to miss anything." He replied seriously, glancing down at her still flat stomach.

Ziva smiled softly, "Tony it is just morning sickness, I'm sure that most husbands would rather miss this part. I know I would like to."

"Yeah well most husbands don't miss fourteen years of their first kid's whole life." Tony muttered before sitting up so he was leaning against the door to the shower.

Ziva frowned and moved so she was sitting cross-legged in front of him and took his hands in her own. "Tony, please do not start this now that we are going to have another child. I do not want you comparing his or her life and how we raise this child to the things you missed with Tali. It is not your fault that you were not able to watch her grow, the circumstances were-"

"The circumstances were my fault." He interrupted. "I shouldn't have walked out on you like that. I should have known that-"

"No, Tony." She placed a finger on his lips and he stopped. "Neither one of us could have expected that after you left I would find out that I was pregnant. I could have made more of an effort to understand why you wanted to leave and you could have tried to understand why I wanted to stay. We hardly ever fought back then so we were not used to comprising and making up. We were both at fault for the years you lost with Tali and I."

"But Zi-" He tried to protest again but she talked over him.

"No but's, My Little Hairy Butt." He chuckled and she grinned, glad that her words had, had the desired effect. "You will be a part of the rest of her life and though we both know that she missed having a father, she will forget the early years and cherish the years that she will be able to share with you. I promise you will not miss of the important moments, but you must promise me that you will not be overprotective and flutter over me during this pregnancy."

"Hover, I won't hover over you." Tony corrected grinning crookedly at her. "If you promise that you won't let me miss any of the important stuff, I won't hover."

"Deal." She sealed the agreement with a kiss and they sat for a few moments in silence before it was decided that Gibbs wouldn't be happy if they were late.

* * *

They got to work right on time and for the first few hours the only thing that was done was old paperwork and every once and a while Ziva would text Tali, who was still at home until tomorrow when she went back to school.

Around ten Gibbs' phone rang and they were told to gear up. When they arrived at the scene Tony was put in charge of the camera, Ziva was told to bag and tag, and McGee walked off into the house behind which the young Petty Officer was found to take statements from his family.

Ziva went through her usual routine of sweeping the area by starting at the back of the fence and picking up anything they looked noteworthy, but anything deemed peculiar warranted a shout to Gibbs. She glanced over at the body a few times and was glad she was not in charge of taking pictures; the Petty Officer's leg had been broken so badly that if she squinted from her position she could see the bone poking through the skin. Ziva shuddered and went back to her task. She continued back and forth across the yard meticulously for the next few minutes before she realized she was being watched.

Ziva stood up from her crouched position at a row of rose bushes that she had been inspecting and found Tony standing by the body, camera poised in his hands, but his eyes were trained on her. She sighed, he had promised he would not be over protective but apparently watching her like a hawk when they were in the field did not fall into that category for him. Ziva gave him a small smile and mouthed the words 'I'm fine, quit worrying', just as Gibbs stood up from his spot by Ducky and gave Tony a good smack to the back of the head.

Ziva stifled her laughter with a hand while Gibbs spat a few annoyed words at Tony who quickly got back to his task. She was just about to do the same when the older man's sharp blue eyes caught her own. She quickly tried to hide the secret from her eyes, but in those few seconds of eye contact Ziva knew that Gibbs could tell she and Tony were hiding something.

For the rest of the day Ziva avoided Gibbs like he was the plague. It was not that she wanted to keep the pregnancy a secret, but she knew that when Gibbs did find out she would be put on desk duty until she went on maternity leave and if her prediction was correct and she was only three months pregnant she would not allow him to chain her to a desk for the next five months. So Ziva threw herself into her work and because Tony had somehow picked up on the fact that Gibbs was not to know about anything yet, he did the same and the case was solved by seven that evening.

"Good work, go home." Gibbs ordered after coming back from a successful interrogation with the suspect.

Ziva grabbed her backpack, made sure her cell was in her pants pocket, and met Tony between their desks. He smiled, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and called a 'goodnight' to Gibbs and McGee before they made their way over to the elevator.

"So, why aren't we telling Gibbs?" Tony asked once they were inside.

Ziva sighed, "If we tell him now he will most definitely put me on desk duty until I go on maternity leave and I have five more months before that happens."

"Maybe he should Zi." Tony mused leaning against the elevator wall.

She glared at him, "Tony you said you would not be overprotective."

"Yeah, but chasing after suspects who more often than not have weapons isn't the safest thing for a pregnant woman to be doing." He glanced at her angry expression before adding "Even if she is a crazy ninja chick."

She rolled her eyes and took his hand as they left the elevator and walked to their car. "I'll tell Gibbs after the first doctor's appointment only if you agree to let me stay in the field until I'm five months along."

"Fine, but the doctor and Gibbs both have to okay it." Tony countered as he started the car.

She contemplated this for a moment before nodding, "Alright, deal."

He chuckled, "And you said we weren't good at compromising."

Ziva smiled, "I'll text Tali and let her know we're on our way."

She pulled out her phone and was scrolling through her contacts when it unexpectedly vibrated and under the words _1 New Message_ was an unexpected name.

"Did you know that Gibbs could text?" She asked her husband curiously, showing him her phone.

Tony laughed, "No, but maybe he's finally decided to catch up to the rest of the world.

"Maybe." Ziva clicked view and read through the text before sighing.

"What'd he say?" Tony asked taking his eyes off the road a moment to study her face.

"It appears I will not be allowed to wait until we see the doctor." She explained. "Drop me off at Gibbs' house, I will walk home when I am done talking to him."

Tony slowed the car as they approached his house and glanced down the street at their own house, "You sure? I could come in too, Tali will be fine for a little bit longer."

"No, you go ahead, this shouldn't take long." She unbuckled, leaning over to kiss him before getting out and walking up to the front door.

Ziva watched the car to make sure he went all the way down to their house and pulled into the garage before turning back to Gibbs' front door. All the text said was; _My basement, five minutes_, so maybe he didn't suspect anything, just wanted Tony and Ziva to keep things out of the office since Tony had been obviously distracted that morning at the crime scene. Though as she opened the front door and walked down the hall to the open basement door, Ziva's gut tightened and it wasn't because of morning sickness; she'd been found out.

* * *

**A/N: So as previously stated Ziva is not trying to hide this from him to be mean or anything, she just doesn't want to have to sit at a desk bored out of her mind for six months. Alright, hope you enjoyed this first chapter and please let me know by way of review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Ziva crept down the basement stairs slowly, watching Gibbs intently as soon as he came into view. She was trying to discern by his body language as he worked with something wooden in his hands, whether he knew what her secret was or that she was just keeping something from him. She stopped at the bottom step and lowered herself onto it, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. Ziva fiddled with the hem of her shirt, feeling like a child waiting to be scolded as they sat in silence, the only sound coming from Gibbs' hands. She flicked her gaze over at him long enough to see that he was whittling a block of wood and she watched as the shavings fell, collecting into a small pile on the cement floor.

After about five more minutes of silence Ziva was prepared to start the conversation when Gibbs whittling finally ceased. In just two strides he was standing in front of her. She looked up at him, expecting a look of anger at having secrets kept from him, but instead his eyes were soft as he sat the block of wood on her lap and took a seat beside her on the steps.

Ziva examined the object in her hands quietly. It appeared to be made out of mahogany and was about an inch thick, six inches long, and four inches wide. On the face of the block of wood a thin line had been carved bordering the each side of the wood. Inside that thin rectangle were three lines:

נס קטן

_Baby DiNozzo_

_Born:_

The first line was in Hebrew lettering, translated it meant 'little miracle'. Ziva traced her fingers over the words, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and she turned to Gibbs both gratitude and confusion swimming in her dark brown eyes.

"I'll fill the last line in when the kid shows up." He stated simply, gesturing to the gift.

"But how did you know? We only found out yesterday." She questioned, wiping at her hormone induced tears.

"I'm not stupid Ziva." He quipped with a laugh. "Between DiNozzo staring at you this morning like it was his job and you sprinting for the bathroom after McGee brought back lunch from your favorite place, it wasn't hard to figure out."

Ziva let out a small laugh, "I did not think it was that obvious." She leaned her head against his shoulder, "Thank you Gibbs, this is beautiful."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, "You're welcome Ziver."

She paused for a moment trying to figure out the best way to approach him with her question, "I am not sure what the normal procedure is for this situation but-"

"Soon as your five months I'm assigning you desk duty, I'll tell Jen tomorrow." Gibbs interrupted, laying out the guidelines.

Ziva smiled delighted that she had not had to argue, "Alright, thank you."

They sat in a comfortable silence and she looked over to her left, noticing for the first time that there was no longer a partially constructed boat sitting in the middle of the room. Her brow furrowed and she turned to look at him curiously.

"How did you get it out?"

"I took it apart and it's sitting in the woodpile in the backyard." He replied knowing without having to ask what she was talking about.

She gaped at him, "You took it apart? Why would you destroy all that hard work?"

Gibbs smiled at her shocked disposition, "Yeah, I did. I built that boat and all the others before it in grieving, but now that I've got my family and my grandkids back I don't need 'em anymore."

After what had happened last year with her father, Ziva didn't think she could say anything that would be able to convey to him the feeling that filled her heart at his words, so she simply hugged him and whispered, "I love you _Abba_."

He returned the hug tightly, and the man whose emotions were always locked away in a box was unable to speak for fear that he would choke on the lump in his throat.

She pulled back after a few moments, sniffing at the tears that had made another appearance, "I should probably head back home before Tony gets restless and decides to tell Tali without me."

Gibbs helped her up and brushed away a tear that had made its way onto her cheek, giving her an encouraging smile. "She'll take it fine, don't worry."

Ziva shook her head as she began to ascend the steps, "You know me too well Gibbs."

"Tell her I said good luck for school tomorrow." He said once she had gotten to the top of the steps.

"I will." She smiled down at him, "_Shalom, Abba._"

"Bye, Ziver."

* * *

Ziva entered her home after taking the short walk back, feeling content now that she had gotten that secret off her chest. Now they just had to tell Tali and then after they went to her first doctor's appointment they would be able to let the rest of the team know.

"I'm back!" She called slipping off her shoes and padding down the hall to the living room, the homemade gift still in her hand. "Have you eaten d-"

She stopped midsentence in the doorway, finding the room surprisingly empty. At this time of night her husband and daughter were usually sitting in front of the TV either eating dinner or snacking on popcorn, a tradition they had picked up over the summer after Tony had shared with Tali his love for movies, but tonight the room was empty.

Ziva's eyebrows drew together, "Tony? Tali?"

"Up here, Zi!" Tony's yelled down the stairs.

She walked back into the hall and up the stairs quickly, when she reached the top she looked left and then right and found Tony leaning against the door frame of their daughter's closed door. She frowned and approached cautiously.

"Tali, please open the door." Tony knocked half-heartedly on the wood and sighed looking at her. "All I asked was if she was ready for school tomorrow and she freaked out, ran up here, and won't let me come in."

"Do you know why?" Ziva whispered back taking a step towards the door.

"I think she might've said something about clothes, but I'm not sure." He grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug, resting his chin on her head. "How'd things go with Gibbs?"

She pulled away and handed him the carved, wooden block. "He gave me this."

"This is beautiful." He whispered after studying it briefly. "What did he say about desk duty?"

"He said that I would not be put on until I am five months and he will tell the director tomorrow." Her gaze flicked to Tali's door and then back to Tony. "She is probably nervous for tomorrow and I think we should tell her about the baby before we tell anyone else, but both of us might…"

"Overwhelm her." Tony finished.

"Are you alright with just me telling her? I know you did not want to miss anything."

"It's fine Zi," He gave her a quick kiss and began backing up towards the stairs. "Besides the whole clothes situation is more of your thing."

Ziva laughed lightly, "So you handle the sports stuff and I handle all the girl stuff then?"

Tony pointed his two pointer fingers at her and smiled wryly, "Exactly."

She shook her head and once he had retreated downs stairs she gingerly knocked on the door, "Tali, it's me, may I come in?"

There was no response, just a click of the lock and a turn of the door handle. Ziva took this as permission to enter and slowly stepped in the room. The farther she opened the door the more she had to focus on keeping her features concerned and helpful rather than frightened by the state of her daughter's room. Clothes littered the floor around her four-poster bed and were also strewn across her pale purple comforter. Tali sat on the bed in the middle of the mess, head in her hands, elbows resting on her knees.

"_Ahava_?" She asked quietly, approaching the bed.

Tali looked up at her defeated, "I have nothing to wear."

Ziva gave her a small smile, "I'm sure we can find something."

She began collecting the clothes off the floor and with Tali's help her whole wardrobe had been put back in her closet except for one outfit that was lying neatly on top of her bed; a peach colored, floral print blouse with a three quarter length sleeve that Ziva had paired with a cute pair of dark wash, jean shorts. Tali approved the top and even added a pair of black, lace-less, slip on converse, but she had shook her head at the shorts and replaced them with a pair of dark blue capris. She did not ask why because she was still was at a loss as to why her daughter would not show any skin above the knees since her return from Israel. They'd taken her to the hospital after arriving back home to get her treated and though she had seen the bandages on her daughter's legs briefly when they had come into change them while she was asleep, she had never actually seen the damage that had made her fifteen year-old swear off pools, bathing suits, and shorts.

Ziva didn't say anything about the change of apparel as she folded the clothes and set them atop the dresser, but when she was done she took a seat on top of the bed and patted the spot beside her.

"Why are you so nervous about tomorrow?" She asked, pushing one of Tali's light brown curls behind her ear. "I do not remember you being as nervous last year when you moved into a new school after we moved here."

Tali sighed, "I know…it's just this is high school and I feel like I've got to make a good impression since these people have probably known each other since they were little and I'm not going to know anyone."

"You shouldn't feel like you have to impress anyone, and don't forget about Izzy." Tim and Abby had ended up moving into the same school district and as far as Ziva knew this had made her daughter very happy.

"I guess, but that's only one person and who knows how many classes we'll actually have together and-"

She interrupted Tali's nervous babbling with a hug, "Talia DiNozzo, you need to stop your worrying right now. I promise you that everything will be fine. Gibbs even wished you luck."

Tali pulled back, a few tears in her eyes, "Really?" Ziva nodded. "You promise everything will be okay?

"Cross my throat and hope to die." She replied.

Tali gave a small laugh, "Mom, it's 'cross my heart'."

Ziva frowned, "But you would die much quicker the other way, would you not?"

"Um…sure." Tali made a face, and started to get up. "We should probably go downstairs before Dad eats all the pizza I ordered."

"Wait," she grabbed her hand. "There is something that I need to tell you."

Tali scooted back to her spot hesitantly, "Okay…"

Ziva took a deep breath before continuing, "I know that there are a lot of things going on right now, with you starting school and sports; I did not want to add one more thing on top of that right before your first day, but your Dad and I thought we should tell you before we let anyone else know."

"Mom, what's going on? Are you sick?" Tali questioned fearfully.

"No, no, it is nothing like that." She assured with a small smile, taking another deep breath before saying, "Tali, I'm pregnant."

Tali didn't say anything for a few moments and Ziva was afraid that she had done the wrong thing by telling her now, but when Tali looked up at her with a huge smile on her face she knew she had nothing to worry about.

"Mom, that's great!" She exclaimed, pulling Ziva into a hug.

She pulled back hesitantly, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I told you when I was little that I always wanted a brother or sister. You're a bit late, but that means I'll just get to skip all the annoying little kid stuff while I'm at college." Tali joked, kissing her mom on the cheek before sliding off the bed. "C'mon I'm really hungry, and I'm pretty sure Dad isn't going to hold much longer."

"You go ahead; I'll be down in a second." Tali nodded, gave her a smile, and Ziva couldn't help but laugh as she heard her daughter run down the stairs and yell good naturedly at Tony for starting without them.

Ziva flicked the lights off, and left her daughter's room. She stopped outside the empty room across the hall and pushed the door open just far enough for her to poke her head in. Ziva looked around the empty room, with plain white walls, and not a personal touch in sight with a small smile. It was a blank canvas that she, Tony, and Tali would paint and decorate together and she couldn't be happier.

She stepped back into the hall and closed the door quietly, before calling down to her family, "You better not have eaten all of that pizza!"

* * *

**A/N: Pretty fluffy I know, but some good fluff is needed in everybody's lives :) In case you didn't know, Abba means father and Ahava means love, or my love. Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Warning, mentions of abuse towards the end of this chapter. I rated this story T for a reason.**

Chapter Three

Tali raced down the stairs slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder as she passed the kitchen, and yelled a 'goodbye' to her parents that sat within. She stepped outside, shut the door behind her, and began the walk down the street to the bus stop that she along with the other kids in her neighborhood had been assigned to. When she was close enough to see the group of teenagers on the corner she allowed herself a sigh of relief; she'd spent so much time making sure she looked as close to perfect as she could get this morning that when she had glanced up at the clock on her nightstand for the first time that morning she found that she should have been at the bus stop three minutes ago. It seemed she owed her thanks to the inevitable fact that on the first day buses were notorious for running late.

Everyone at the stop was clustered into their own little groups and she ended up standing alone until the bus finally arrived. Tali made her way down the aisle towards the back of the bus where the older kids seemed to be sitting; the middle school went to school at the same time as the high school did and therefore they shared transportation. Thankfully there was an empty seat and she quickly took it, scooting all the way over to the window. She took out her iPod, stuck her headphone in her ears, and pressed play, watching the scenery blur past her window.

After a few minutes the bus started to slow to a stop and when one of the students that got on caused a loud greeting from almost the whole back of the bus, she paused her iPod and turned, looking across the aisle where he had taken his seat.

"Jacob, man I haven't seen you in forever! How's your summer been?" asked the blonde, athletically built boy who was sitting in the same seat.

Jacob laughed, "Fine 'till now."

A few people laughed and a light conversation began to flow between him and other people sitting nearby. This gave Tali the opportunity to study him. He was toned, but not so much that his muscles bulged through the A&E polo he sported. He had what she liked to refer to as 'Bieber hair'; brown, straight hair that was long enough that he had to push it over his forehead or it would fall in his eyes. He looked a little older than her so she figured he was either a junior or senior and by the sound of all the pretty girls that were having conversations with him, he was definitely a well-liked guy.

Tali was about to turn back to the window and press play again when their eyes met. He gave her a polite smile and a small nod of the head and she just stared at him like an idiot. She broke the eye contact as quickly as she could and awkwardly turned away, hoping he had not noticed the blush that had crept onto her cheeks. His smile had been dazzling and his eyes were a striking, deep blue and for some reason her brain had decided to make her act like a crazy chick that couldn't tear her gaze away from the handsome, popular guy.

She mentally kicked herself and had her finger right above the small triangle on the screen when he said something that caught her attention, "Hey, Chris, you know who that girl is?"

"Who? Oh her? Nope, some new freshman I guess." She didn't have to look over to know that they were talking about her.

"I never saw her when we were in middle school though."

"I don't know Jake, maybe she moved here or something."

"Yeah, I guess."

The conversation ended there and they began to talk about other things, but all Tali could think about was that she had potentially made one of the most popular guys in school believe that she was an awkward, gawky, day already had gone from bad to worse and she wasn't even at school yet, things definitely weren't looking up.

* * *

A few hours later Tali stood in the middle of the huge cafeteria and the only thought she was able to muster up was that she absolutely hated 6th and 7th period. The only two periods she didn't have with Izzy ended up being the two periods she had wanted to have with her the most; lunch, followed up by gym. Tali looked around the nosy room and spotted an empty table and made a beeline for it. She sat down and though the piece of pizza she had bought did look good, her stomach was anything but hungry. All she could think about was that if there was no bathroom inside the locker room next period she was going to have to change in front of a bunch of other girls and if she wasn't fast enough a few of them might catch sight of the scars on her legs.

Her hand involuntarily began rubbing her thigh nervously; a habit she had picked up after Israel. She closed her eyes and took a few calming deep breaths. Tali knew if she wasn't careful she would have a flashback to those five horrible days of torture. She'd had them periodically over the past year; they were brought on by the most inconsequential things; the smell of oatmeal had caused her to almost throw up a week after she had returned; it was the only food they had given her. A month later when her basketball team had been in the locker room at another school getting ready before the game she'd almost lost it completely when there had been no bathroom inside the locker room to change in.

The nights following those instances and any others that cropped up over the past year had been filled with nightmares and she had been plunged back to the days of training and nights of infrequent sleep interrupted by drunken men.

Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly when a lunch tray was sat down in front of the seat to her left and its owner plopped into the plastic chair beside her. She turned her head slowly and was thankful she had decided not to eat anything yet because she would've choked on her food.

The kid from the bus was sitting beside her, and he was acting like it was nothing new. He opened his bottle of water, took a swig and started in on his pizza. She sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes until she realized maybe this was normal, normal for him. This was probably the table he and his friends always sat at and she was the idiot freshman who had sat down at it. Tali wrapped her hands around her tray and stood up, looking around for another empty table. She found one in the far corner of the room and figured it was a safe bet; she started to push out her chair, but stopped when she felt a hand on her wrist.

"Where are you going?"

She looked down at his hand on her wrist, then back at his face, "Um, I just-well I thought this was your table and-I should go."

"Don't, this isn't anyone's table." He stated simply.

"But your friends…"

"Are over there." He interrupted pointing a few tables to their right at a group of rowdy senior guys who were trying to get one of the girls at the table to eat a disgusting looking piece of meat.

She turned back to him, "Then why are you sitting with me?"

He sighed, "Chris and those guys are nice but after a while they get on your nerves and," he continued smiling at her, "I saw you sitting alone and figured that was no way to spend lunch on your first day."

"Oh." Tali didn't know what else to say in response so she slowly sat back down.

"My name's Jacob Holden, but you can call me Jake." He held his hand out to her and she shook it hesitantly.

"My name is Tali, Tali DiNozzo." She let go of his hand and when he grinned at her she tried to smile back as best she could.

"DiNozzo…is that Italian?" He asked taking a bite of peaches.

"Yeah, it is."

"My great-great-great-grandmother immigrated over here from Italy." Jake made a frown at his pizza. "Wish she would've passed more of her recipes down so I could teach those lunch ladies how to make some real pizza."

Tali laughed, "I'm not sure they would like being told how to do their jobs by a high schooler."

"Yeah, I might find something other than beans in my chili if they get mad." They both laughed.

In the following thirty minutes she learned that Jake was a senior and had lived in D.C. his whole life. His dad worked in the Pentagon and his mom was a nurse at Bethesda Hospital and he had two little brothers, one was in third grade and the other one was in seventh. He played soccer and basketball and had led both teams to championships the previous year. Tali was vague when asked about her family. She told him that her parents both worked for NCIS, but left out the part about her mom being pregnant. She confirmed his suspicions about her being new to the school district and told him that she played softball and basketball. Tali didn't, however, reveal how she had come to meet her dad last year, or the fact that she had been kidnapped; she decided that wasn't something you revealed to someone you just met.

When the bell for seventh period finally rang, she found that she wasn't only dreading gym because of having to change, she was going to miss talking to Jake and that fact surprised her immensely.

She stood and smiled, "Thanks."

"For what?" He questioned as they threw their trays in the trash and walked towards the doors to the cafeteria.

"For sitting with me." She replied.

"Don't mention it." They came to a fork in the hallway and stopped. "Where're you headed?"

"Gym." She gestured to the right, "You?"

"Calculus." He answered pointing to the left, "Guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, sure." Tali smiled before turning right and walking towards the gym. She was almost there when she heard, "Tali, wait!"

She turned around a watched, confused, as Jake ran up to her, "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head and held out a scrap of paper to her, "No, just forgot that I wanted to give you my number…in case you wanted to hang out sometime."

"Oh, thanks." She took the paper and stuffed it in her pocket, "I've got a pen, but no paper."

Jake just held out his hand, palm up, "This'll do."

Tali smiled and scribbled her number quickly on his skin. "Alright then, I'll see you later Jake."

"Bye, Tali." She waved as he backed away and it wasn't until she entered the girl's locker room that she realized what had just happened.

She, Tali DiNozzo, a freshman had just exchanged numbers with a senior. Her eyes grew wide and she was thankful there was a bathroom, not just so she could change, but so she could calm down and allow her flushed cheeks to return to their normal color. Part of her thought that what had just happened was a product of her imagination, but when she slipped her capris back on at the end of class and curled her fingers around the slip of paper in her pocket she knew that she had not been imagining any of it. The rest of the day seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye and before she knew it she was at home, standing in front of her bathroom mirror preparing for bed.

Tali jumped as her phone vibrated loudly against the countertop. She picked it up and her face broke into a huge grin as she read the message.

_Had a great time at lunch today. Mind keeping me company again tomorrow?_

_-Jake_

She texted back a simple yes and then added his number to her contacts. The next fifteen minutes she had to force herself to focus on washing her face without getting soap in her eyes and pulling her hair up without making it a tangled mess because she was so distracted. Every time she tried to think about something else her mind would continuously bring one singular thought to the forefront of her mind.

_You ate with a senior and he gave you his number!_

Tali was absolutely sure that it would take her longer than usual to fall asleep tonight as she undressed and pulled on her pajama top. She glanced in the body length mirror on the back of her bedroom door and tried her best to wipe the goofy smile off her face. She was about to pull her pajama pants on when she accidently glanced at her thighs and the giddy feeling completely vacated her body and a familiar scene flashed before her eyes.

"_You don't want me, huh?" The man breathed against her neck as tears streamed down her face and she tried not to sob. _

_It was day two in hell and one of Scarface's drunken lackeys had stumbled in her cell drunk and had begun to kiss her. She'd kicked him in the stomach, but it had only made the situation worse. _

_He pulled down her pants and she watched in horror as he pulled out a knife, "Fine, I'll make sure no one ever wants you then."_

Tali traced the two words he had carved into her legs that night and felt a warm tear slide down her cheek.

_**Dirty. Bitch.**_

She'd never been more than, kissed or touched at the training camp and those were memories she could forget. But those two words, carved into her flesh forever had seared that night, that pain, into her memory forever. He was right, no one would ever want her, want this.

Tali pulled the pants all the way on, turned out her light, and slid under the warm, enveloping covers on her bed. Her pillow became soaked with hot, salty, tears as she stared out of her window at the moon. There would definitely be a nightmare tonight, she could already feel it, but that wasn't why she was crying. All she could think about was that in that moment standing before her reflection in the mirror she had realized in one second that she had feelings for Jake and in the next that he could never like her back.

Just before she let sleep take its hold on her she had come to one conclusion. She would have to distance herself from Jake or else she would fall for him, and if she fell for him he would inevitably find out about her past, about her scars, and he would end things because she was damaged goods, emotionally and physically. Tali didn't think the walls she had built around her heart to keep out all the pain from Israel could handle heart break as well, so she took her feelings for Jake and locked them in a tight, little box and threw away the key. Knowing that if that key if that key was ever found her walls would come crumbling down and she would fall with them.

**A/N: So this was an extra-long chapter filled with some very important information and I know there is absolutely no Tiva in this chapter, but I thought we needed to be caught up on Tali's state of mind and what better way to do that than her first day of school? Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everybody! So sorry I wasn't able to update last week. There has been a lot of drama going on lately at school and it just didn't put me in the right mood for writing. Hope you all can forgive me for the delay and most importantly enjoy this next chapter!**

**P.S. – Italicized portion is a flashback.**

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Chapter Four

Ziva found herself once again sitting at the kitchen table staring intently at her teenage daughter as she pushed her food around her plate and her husband made small talk, completely oblivious to what was going on. It had been like this every night at dinner for the past two weeks. Starting the night after her second day of school Tali had become distant, dejected, and distracted. At dinner she only talked when Ziva or Tony directly asked her a question and when the meal was over she retreated to her room, always using homework as her excuse when she didn't come back down the rest of the night.

Tonight Ziva had tried a different tactic, instead of asking Tali about her day right off the bat she instead talked about hers and prompted Tony to do the same. They focused mostly on the doctor's appointment the two had gone to during lunch that afternoon. She allowed herself a small smile as she thought back to the look on Tony's face when the picture of their child had appeared on the ultrasound machine.

"_And that is your baby."_

_Ziva blinked back the tears that had appeared in the corners of her eyes as the whooshing sound of the baby's heart beat filled her ears and her eyes stayed glued to the picture to her left. Part of her had thought that Tony would end up being the more emotional one because he had missed this with Tali, but she should have expected that it would be her. Every doctor's appointment she had gone to when she was pregnant with Tali had always filled her with the same feeling and caused her usually controlled emotions to act of their own accord. She always thought it was because Tony had not been there, but now that the same feeling of amazement filled her whole mind and body, she knew that it had always been the fact that she, that they had made something this precious that brought tears to her eyes._

_Tony squeezed her hand lightly and for the first time since the machine had been turned on Ziva remembered she was not alone. She turned her head to the right to look at him and tried to hide her surprise at the wetness that glistened in his green eyes._

"_I thought DiNozzo men did not cry." She commented wryly, smiling lovingly at him._

_He chuckled, but it barely got passed the lump in his throat. "Technically, the tears are still in my eyes."_

The rest of the appointment had passed by in a blur, but they had made sure to get several copies of the ultrasound pictures one of which was currently resting on the table between Ziva and Tali. When she had shown her daughter the picture her face had lit up and the only thing she could talk about was how small the baby was. This reaction had surprised her, but it seemed even at fifteen her daughter was still a child at heart.

Ziva had taken this good mood Tali seemed to be in and used it to her own advantage by making a casual segway into school. It worked, she talked about Izzy and different classes and it seemed like Ziva was finally getting somewhere…until they got to lunch. As soon as she questioned her daughter about that period she shut down. The ultrasound photo that she had been holding protectively was put on the table, and her now empty hand took up her fork and began pushing around the remnants of her dinner.

This brought them back to the present, where Ziva was sitting still trying to get Tali to meet her gaze with no success. She felt like sighing out of frustration, but knew it would only be taking two steps back rather than one forward, so she kept quiet. She needed to get Tali alone so she could get the truth out of her, but how could she do it without making it seem so obvious?

The dishes.

Ziva smiled at the plan that began to formulate in her head and once it was clearly formed she took the first step, "Tony, I believe it is your night to do the dishes, yes?"

As expected Tali left the table at this cue that dinner was over and headed upstairs; Ziva smiled with satisfaction.

"But Zi, I just did-" Tony whined.

She interrupted him with a fierce glare and he started clearing the table and taking dishes into the kitchen without question. Ziva stood up and when he came back in she met his gaze with a look of apology, flicking her eyes toward the stairs, trying to communicate with him that she needed time alone with their daughter. He nodded his head and squeezed her hand encouragingly.

"Thank you." Ziva said quietly, he nodded once more and headed back into the kitchen.

She looked around on the table and found the ultrasound picture, grabbing it before making her way upstairs. Ziva approached Tali's door quietly and knocked lightly on the door.

"Tali? Can I come in?" She asked gently.

"Just a minute!" Ziva waited patiently a few seconds before Tali opened the door. "What is it Mom?"

"You forgot your pic…" She trailed off, her hand that was raised slowly lowered as she glanced down at her daughter, her eyes landing on her upper legs.

They were covered by a pair of sporty shorts that only came down about mid-thigh and when Ziva heard the water running in the shower she realized that they must've been pulled on hastily, because she knew Tali was not apt to wearing this kid of clothing. But that wasn't what had her concerned at the moment. No, it wasn't the shorts; it was what they only half covered on her daughter's thighs. On each leg it appeared there was part of a word on her skin.

"Ima?" Tali followed her mother's gaze and her eyes grew wide. "I-I was just g-gonna take a shower. Can –um, I mean d-do you think this could wait?"

"Talia Katelyn DiNozzo if those are tattoos-"

"No, no they're not I pr-promise." Ziva glanced back to her daughter's eyes and found truth there, accompanied by hurt, guilt, and tears that she was barely keeping from sliding down her face.

She softened considerably and took Tali in her arms, "I'm sorry _ahava_, I should not have assumed anything."

Ziva felt wetness begin to gather on her left shoulder as her daughter sobbed. She carefully led them further into the room, closing the door, and guiding them both over to the bed, the whole time making sure she did not release the hold she had on her daughter. Once they sat down she sat Tali in her lap and hugged her close, stroking her hair while whispering soothing words into her ear.

After a few minutes when her sobs had quieted down to barely audible hiccups Tali shifted off Ziva's lap, but leaned against her left side, not yet wanting to break contact completely. That sat in that position, unmoving for about five minutes before Tali reached down and began to pull up her shorts.

Ziva laid her hand over Tali's, "You do not have to show me anything."

"I need to." She looked up at her in earnest and it was all Ziva could do to nod and try to stay strong for her child.

Tali slid both sides of the material up and angled her legs so her mother could read the words. Ziva reached her hand out, but drew it back quickly, not sure how comfortable her daughter was with touch.

Tali shook her head and grabbed her mother's hand. "You can its fine."

Ziva bit back her response to the word fine, which did not at all describe this situation, but did as her daughter said. When her fingers came in contact with the scarred flesh she could see and feel Tali flinch and instantly drew away, not just for her daughter's comfort but for her own as well. Ziva would be lying if she said that she was barely holding it together at the sight of her once headstrong, stubborn, independent daughter, sitting broken beside her.

When Tali whispered the word 'Israel' her stomach plummeted to her feet. She had been hiding this from them for almost a whole year and Ziva was now questioning her ability as a parent immensely. She didn't have much time to think about that though as Tali finally began to open up about these past two weeks and a boy named Jacob. She confessed her insecurities involving the words that adorned her skin and how this boy could never like her back if he ever found out about them. When Ziva learned he was a senior she was immediately skeptical of this boy's intentions but Tali assured her that he was nothing but nice supplying a few examples. Like even though she now took her lunch to the bathroom, he still sat at the same table all by himself, waiting for her.

Ziva consoled Tali on every insecurity she expressed and eventually their conversation turned to lighter topics. They talked late into the night, both glad to no longer have any secrets between them. When it was almost eleven Ziva suggested they call it a night and deemed tomorrow a 'mother-daughter' day that would consist of shopping, food, and whatever else they could think of.

They said goodnight and when she entered the hall Ziva was extremely glad that the lights downstairs were all out and Tony seemed to have gone to bed. She padded quickly down the hall to their room and opened the door slowly, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep.

"Zi?" His arms were crossed behind his head and his bare chest was only halfway covered by the quilt on the bed.

Ziva slipped off her jeans, "Sorry, I did not mean to wake you."

"Wasn't asleep." He replied dryly.

She crawled in beside him once she had her pajamas on and curled into his side. "You did not have to wait for me."

"Wasn't waiting either, I can't sleep well without you beside me." He kissed her forehead and pulled her as close as he could. "She okay?"

"I-I do not know, Tony. I hope so, but I do not know." She paused and without looking he could tell she was trying desperately not to cry. "Does that make me a bad mother?"

His heart panged at these words, "No, it doesn't."

"Promise?" She whispered.

"Promise." Tony turned on his side, and held her to him with both arms silently communicating that if she needed to, she could cry.

And she did. Sobs wracked her body and tears ran down her face in torrents. All the time he comforted her, rubbing her back gently, stroking her hair, whispering loving words in her ear, and most of all making sure she did not slip from his grasp. Eventually the tears stopped and the sobs were no more. When she turned onto her side, he protested with a small grunt, but she pulled his arm over her waist and moved close enough so that they were sharing the same pillow.

"Hold me?" She whispered softly.

He moved so that his chin rested on her shoulder, and kissed her cheek. "Always."

Tony stayed awake until he heard her breathing even out before thinking about sleep himself. Part of him thought he should've asked her more about what had happened with Tali, especially if it had her questioning whether she was a good mother, but as he tightened his hold on her a little more he realized it wouldn't have made things any better. Tonight she needed him to hold her, tomorrow he would tackle the rest.

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**A/N: Sad, I know, but now that things are out in the open we can move onto happier stuff. :) Thanks for reading, reviews are welcome!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapter does not pick up right from the last one. It is the next day, but Tony will not be told of the situation until later that evening (towards the end of this chapter).**

Chapter Five

Tali gripped the brown paper bag that held her lunch, tightly in her hand as she stared at the table and person that she had been avoiding for the past week. After the talk she and her mom had on Friday Tali had promised herself that she would start talking to Jacob again. So she took a deep breath, starting maneuvering her way through the lunch tables, and kept repeating the same mantra in her head that she had been all morning. _If he really likes you he won't ask questions. If he really likes you he won't ask questions. If he really…_

By the third time through she was at the table. Jacob hadn't sensed her presence yet and realizing this made a little voice in her head speak up and tell her that she could still run, but she shook her head, swallowed her fears, and pulled up a chair. His eyes were immediately on her, but instead of looking at him she focused on removing items of food from her bag, giving her time to compose herself and decide what she was going to say.

When she finally did look up at him his blue eyes were filled with guilt, "Tali, I'm sorry for-"

"No," She rested a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. You were, you are so nice to me it's just…" Tali trailed off, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, trying to think of how to word her next statement. "I really like you Jake, but there are some things in my past that…that I don't think you would understand or accept. I didn't want to get my hopes up so I distanced myself, but I should have given you more of an explanation, I'm sorry."

He was quiet for a minute, contemplating her statement, but when she tried to move her hand off his arm, he quickly took hold of it. "I like you too Tali, I like you enough that whatever it is that you think I wouldn't accept about you, I would." She opened her mouth, but he squeezed her hand. "You don't have to tell me now or ever if you are really that worried about it. Just know that whatever it is, it doesn't matter to me."

She stared at him, completely shocked, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He smiled and this time when he tried to move his hand from hers, she was the one to grab it back.

He grinned at her wryly, surprised at her move and she simply said, "No."

"Alright." Jake squeezed her hand and turned back to his lunch.

They ate in comfortable silence for a while, that was until trying to use her left hand to eat almost caused Tali to spill her bottle of water all over the table. Jake smiled at the defeated look on her face when she reluctantly pulled her hand from his.

"Here, try this instead." He said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Better?"

She nodded and smiled, "Absolutely."

The rest of lunch went smoothly. They talked about everything and nothing, just getting to know each other and Tali was completely content. When lunch was over and they had walked hand in hand to the fork in the hallway she found she was reluctant to part with him.

"I'll call you later alright?" He asked, more of a statement than a question, seeming to feel the same way.

"Sounds good." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, when she came back to face him she stared at him contemplatively, "Jake, could I ask you something? And I want you to answer truthfully."

He nodded slowly, confused. "Yeah…"

"Do you think we could take things slow?" She paused trying to muster up some examples. "Like go on real dates, don't just text each other all the time, don't suddenly become a couple, just you know…"

"Get to know each other?" He finished with a grin, brushing a lock of curly hair behind her ear. "I would love that. I hate how everyone in high school are friends one day and the next they're in a 'committed' relationship."

At his words Tali let out a sigh she hadn't realized she'd been holding in, "Okay, good." Then she smiled and started walking backwards down the hall, "You'll calll me tonight?"

He winked at her and shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe."

The rest afternoon passed by quickly for Tali and before she knew it she found herself seated at the dinner table with her parents, this time avoiding her food only because she was too busy talking about her day. She didn't mention Jake, mostly because she wasn't sure how much her Dad knew and if he didn't know anything at all she certainly wouldn't be the one to tell him.

But she didn't have to say a thing for Tony to know that something or rather someone, had taken the mood his daughter had been in for the past week and sent it packing. He sat back in his chair observing her elated smile and the way she described every period in detail, all except for lunch which she mentioned only briefly but smiled widely when she described it as great and Tony didn't miss the secretive look that passed between his wife and daughter before she moved onto the next subject.

His suspicions of a 'someone' were confirmed when Tali's cell phone rang from where she had left in the kitchen and she jumped up and ran to get it. Tony tried not to eavesdrop, but couldn't help that his position by the door to the kitchen allowed him to catch a few words here and there.

Tali came back in a minute later, phone pressed to her chest, "Could I skip dishes tonight?"

The question was clearly addressed to Ziva who teased her daughter by appearing to contemplate her request for a minute before finally saying, "Just this once."

Tali smiled brightly at them before hurrying out of the room and up the stairs. Tony stood and began stacking the plates on top of each other, placing the forks on the very top one, before carrying everything into the kitchen and depositing it in the sink. Ziva followed him with their cups and he silently began rinsing off a plate in the sink, handing it to her to put in the dishwasher once it was cleaned off. It was a well-rehearsed ritual and they were finished in no time.

Usually they would head to the living room for either a TV show or one of his movies, but instead Tony plopped himself down on the floor and leaned against the cabinet under the sink. Ziva knew this meant he wanted to talk, it had happened several times in the past year, occasionally the topic warranted a frozen treat or baked good and since she was almost certain she knew what he wanted to talk about she grabbed a pint of unopened chocolate ice cream from the freezer, two spoons from the drawer of utensils, and slid down beside him.

"Friday." He supplied the word as a starting point as she handed him the carton and he popped off the lid.

"Yes, Friday." Ziva spooned out a bite of the ice cream that sat on her husband's lap and savored the delicious dessert while she tried to decide where to start. "Tony, I think that our daughter must have the most beautiful, courageous and wonderful spirit of anyone I have ever met. She just cannot see how that, coupled with not only her outer beauty, but inner as well could make someone like her, make someone see past the scars."

"Scars?" Tony questioned abandoning both his spoon and the ice cream on his lap. "We talking mental or physical?"

She sighed and looked at him, unshed tears pooled in her deep brown eyes, "I am afraid we are talking about both."

Ziva proceeded to tell him about the cruel words that had been etched into their daughter's skin while she was in Israel. For a moment he was filled with absolute hatred and he wished that he could go back to the training camp where they had held her and kill every man in sight. He calmed down after a few soothing words from Ziva and then she continued her story, voicing her concerns about how much they had beaten down Tali's self-esteem and if she would ever gain it back.

"She won't by herself." He said as his arm coiled around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "But she has you and me, Abby and McGoo, Izzy, Gibbs, she has a whole family that will help her get back to her old self. Plus whoever this boy is that sits with her at lunch."

Ziva looked at him curiously, the corners of her mouth turning up to form a small smile, "How did you know?"

"Please Zi, they don't call me _Very _Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo for no reason." That statement earned him a playful smack on the arm and he chuckled. "She wasn't too subtle about the whole thing, it was easy to see that lunch was a very special part of her day, but she didn't want to share more than that because I was in the room."

"Tony, please do not think that she…" She started to explain away his comment but he silenced her with a kiss.

"I know it isn't because she doesn't trust me, it's a Dad thing. You don't tell your Dad about a boy unless he's coming to pick you up for a date and you don't want him to suddenly decide to clean his gun a few minutes before said boy gets there." He said, grinning wryly, "Trust me, I had one girl decide to tell her father all about me and when I picked her up to go to the movies that night I was sat down for a rowdy game of twenty questions before we were allowed to leave."

"Twenty questions?" Her nose wrinkled up cutely and he chuckled.

"I'll have to teach you how to play sometime." Tony paused, "But that's not what we were talking about."

He stared at her expectantly and she began to divulge all the information she had on the boy. The first thing out of her mouth was that he was a senior and as expected he immediately objected to Tali being anywhere near this Jacob Holden kid but Ziva shushed his objections so she could tell him what else there was to this boy so he could see the whole picture. The mention of Jacob being captain of the basketball team coupled with his Italian heritage earned the teenaged boy a little more respect and by the end of Ziva's description of their daughter's 'friend' Tony seemed to be okay with the situation.

"And he seems to be making her happy?"

They both knew it was more of a statement than a question, but Ziva answered him anyways. "Yes, he does."

Tony sighed dejectedly, "Fine, but I get to meet him before he takes her on a date." He paused then amended his statement, "So does Gibbs."

She laughed lightly, "I do not think Gibbs would turn down your offer, but I do not think your daughter would appreciate it."

"Fine, I'll be good." They sat in silence for a few minutes, Ziva's head leaning against his shoulder, his head leaning against hers. "The next one isn't allowed to grow up as fast."

Ziva smiled, her hand resting on her just slightly rounded abdomen, "I do not think we have any control over that."

"Oh well, a man can dream." He kissed her hair. "So you've really never played twenty questions?"

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, if you read the author's note in the first chapter of my new story Till Never Do Us Part than you know that it took me a little while to figure out what I was going to write for this chapter and if you didn't read my new story or the author's note now you do know :) As always thanks for reading, reviews are**_** very**_** welcome.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everybody! So I've been MIA for a while and I apologize for not updating in….how long has it been…oh yeah a month. Sorry about that, but I kind of just got in a writing funk and I wasn't motivated at all. But things are working in my brain once again and I'm excited to work on this story as much as I can over the summer. Also, the fact that the story has progressed a month is not to do with my drop off the face of the earth, I planned this ahead of time. Alright, hope you all enjoy this!**

Chapter Six

Tali ran out of the DMV waving her temporary license in the air and Tony chuckled inside the parked car. He gave her a smile and a thumbs up and started the engine. It was now September and though her fifteenth birthday had been weeks ago, she had only brought up getting her temps last week. There hadn't been much discussion, Ziva and Tony both agreed that she was ready and the next day he brought home the study book for her. She had finished the book in a day, but insisted on waiting for a week so she could study more. Her studying had paid off and she had a huge smile on her face as she slid into the passenger seat beside him.

"So, how long do we have to wait before you can come back and retake it?" he joked pulling out of the parking lot.

"_Dad_! Don't make me Gibbs slap you." She challenged, her stony face slowly cracking as her excitement overcame her anger.

"What's a Gibbs slap?" he questioned, eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

"Oh just this."

Tony flinched as his daughter's hand came into contact with the back of his head. "Oh that."

She laughed, "I asked Mom what they were called after you annoyed Gibbs at that cook out at his house in August and that's what she called 'em."

"Yeah, never mess with a man and his grill." Tony rubbed the back of his head and glanced over at the temporary license that she was still clutching in her hand. "Take a good picture?"

Tali held up the piece of plastic for him to look at, "I think it looks okay."

He smiled at her excited grin in the picture, "Looks better than my first driver's license."

"Really? Why?" She slid the card into her wallet.

"Lady didn't even count; I was right in the middle of sneezing when she took the picture." He grumbled, remembering his embarrassment when he showed it to his friends. "It wasn't very pretty."

"I bet." Tali laughed as she took out her phone to text Izzy and Jake her news.

A few minutes later, when Tony turned onto their street he slowed the car to a stop and put it in park. It took Tali a few seconds to realize that they had stopped but weren't yet at home and she turned to him confused.

"Um, the house is that way." She pointed down the street.

He grinned. "Yeah, I know. You wanna drive the rest of the way?"

Her eyes lit up and she practically jumped out of the car. Once they had switched spots and were situated he got things started with a few questions.

"Alright so the brake is on?"

"The left and the gas is on the right." She answered as she adjusted the mirrors and her seat, already one step ahead of him.

"Good. To change gears you have to keep your foot on the break." She nodded and placed her foot on the break and her right hand on the shifter. "Alright, now put it in drive and slowly ease off the break and then give it a little and I mean a very little bit of gas."

Tony watched as she completed each step carefully and they began moving down the street. "Good job. Why don't you try getting it up to the speed limit?"

"Okay, it's 15 right?" She questioned nervously.

"Exactly." She gave it more gas and Tony watched as she unconsciously began drifting toward the curb. "Okay, now move a little closer to the middle of the road, you're getting a bit close to the curb."

She nodded and moved the car closer to the middle of the road. They got about half way to the house when she began drifting to the right again and Tony didn't notice until she almost ran into a mail box.

"Brake, brake!"

Tali slammed on the brakes and when Tony opened his eyes that he had instinctively closed, he was relieved to see that she had stopped before colliding with the object. He let out a relieved sigh and started to unbuckle.

"Sorry, Dad. I didn't even realize I was that close." She whispered obviously frazzled.

"It's okay. Put it in park, I think that's good for today." He got out of the car but when he got over to the driver's side she had not moved. "Tali?"

She rolled down the window and looked up at him, her pleading gaze meeting his. "Come on Dad, we're only three houses away. Can't I just finish?"

"Maybe next time Tal, you just got your temps and I don't think we should rush things." He answered with a frown that was supposed to be sympathetic.

Tali found it patronizing and unbuckled her seat hastily, Tony barely out of the way when she flung the door open and stormed off. Walking in the opposite direction of their house once she got to the sidewalk.

"Tali! Tali where are you going?" he yelled.

"If you weren't ready for me to drive, then you shouldn't have let me get my temps!" She yelled back. "I'll be at Gibbs'!"

"Wait, Tali…" She was already gone, running down the sidewalk in the direction of his boss' house.

Tony rubbed a hand over his face and got back in the car. This was definitely not one of his prouder moments as a dad and he was hoping Gibbs could somehow get him back in his daughter's good graces.

* * *

Gibbs was just finishing sanding the rocking chair he'd been working on for the past week when he heard his front door open and slam close. He looked up and a few seconds later Tali came stomping down the stairs, stopping at the last step as if she was asking for permission to enter even though she'd already gotten this far. He walked over to his work table, grabbed the can of varnish off of it, and set it down next to the chair.

"Brushes." He said, nodding to their spot on the table as he began prying the lid off the metal can.

Tali grabbed the brushes and handed them to him when he was done. Gibbs slid the can in front of the chair, dipped his brush in the liquid and started applying it to the arm of the chair in front of him. After watching his movements carefully Tali picked up a brush and got to work. They worked in silence and by five 'o'clock the chair was done and they were both seated on the steps, cold drinks in hand.

"Who is that for?" Tali asked, taking a sip of her pop.

Gibbs took a swig of his beer, "Your Mom."

"Oh, cool. It's the same color as that other thing you gave her." She commented, thinking about the only thing her mom had put in the nursery so far.

"Yep, matches everything over there too." He pointed to the far corner of the room where a white sheet partially covered several pieces of furniture.

Tali set her pop on the stairs and walked over to it, gasping when she pulled back the sheet, "Gibbs, these are beautiful. This is all for the nursery?"

He walked up behind her, "Yup."

"Mom's gonna love it. It's a surprise, right?" She asked, sliding her hand over the crib he'd completed a few weeks ago.

"Yeah, figured your Dad, McGee, and I would sneak it in while you, Abby, and Izzy distract her." At the mention of Tony, Gibbs saw Tali tense up and her previously happy demeanor was gone. Gibbs took a long drink of his beer and led her back over to the steps. "What'd he do this time?"

Tali sighed, "I got my temps this afternoon and when we got into the neighborhood he said I could drive to the house. I was almost there when I got really close to a mail box and he freaked out and wanted me to be done. It was just frustrating because if he wasn't ready for me to drive than he should've said so."

Gibbs hadn't had the chance to get to this point with Kelly, but he knew that he probably would've done the same thing as Tony. "He didn't do it on purpose, you're his little girl and he was just trying to protect you."

"Can't be his little girl if he didn't know me when I was one." She whispered almost inaudibly.

He sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "If he had known about you, he would've been there Tali."

"I know. I didn't really mean what I said, I just wish things had gone differently." She sighed, picking at her jeans distractedly. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she fished it out, the text was from her Dad.

_Sorry I overreacted T. Still willing to paint the nursery with me tonight?_

She remembered their plans for phase one of decorating the nursery and texted back her reply quickly. Unaware that Gibbs had been reading over her shoulder she told him they had been planning to paint the nursery and that she should probably get back.

Gibbs followed her upstairs, depositing their empty cans in the trash while she grabbed her backpack. "Need a ride?"

"Nope, I'll just walk." He led her to the door and she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Gibbs."

He nodded, "Anytime Tal."

She smiled then left and Gibbs watched her for a few minutes as she walked down the sidewalk, before returning back to his basement. He grabbed the bottle of bourbon off its shelf and poured a little into an empty mason jar. He took a sip and hoped DiNozzo had learned his lesson, because if either one of his girls ended up in his basement because of him again, he would head slap him into next year.

**A/N: What'd ya think? Reviews are welcome and appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Friday night after Tony and Tali had finished painting the nursery, Tali had gotten a text from Izzy inviting her over to spend the night so they could celebrate her getting her temps. They'd had a pretty good time; watched a couple of movies with cute guys in them and talked late into the night. The next morning Tali thanked Abby for driving her home and said goodbye to Izzy as she stepped out of their car and made her way to the front door tiredly. She didn't know why she had let Izzy talk her into trying her mom's recipe for Caf-Pows and then proceeded to drink several of them and stay up until four in the morning.

She dropped her overnight bag by the door, "I'm home!"

There was no response from inside so she assumed her parents had already left for the grocery store as they did every Saturday morning. Tali trudged up the stairs to her room and flopped down on her bed, intending to sleep for a good three or four more hours. She felt something foreign laying across her pillow and lifted her head up. It was the old shirt her dad had let her borrow last night when they were painting. She was about to throw it on the floor when she remembered that her mom did laundry on Saturdays and if she didn't want her nap interrupted it was best to just go ahead and put it in her parents room.

She sighed heavily and got back up, scooping up the paint-stained shirt as she went. She padded down the hall to her parents room and walked into their bathroom where they kept their hamper. Tali turned back around to leave when she unexpectedly slipped and fell flat on her butt. She coughed trying to catch her breath after the wind had been knocked out of her and felt something wet covering her legs and arms. Figuring it was just water from one of her parents taking a shower she stood and flipped the lights on, grabbing a towel off the back of the bathroom door to use to clean up the mess.

But when her hand came in contact with the white fabric and there was suddenly a red stain on it she froze. Her eyes grew wide as they traveled up her blood-covered hand to the arm of her shirt that was soaked as well. She turned around slowly, her hands shaking uncontrollably, goosebumps ran up her arms and legs, and the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up as her eyes landed on the puddle of blood on her parents' bathroom floor. Her heart rate sped up and suddenly it was hard to breath. She felt as if this once spacious bathroom was now the size of a bathroom stall and the lack of space was suffocating her.

Tali slowly backed out of the room. She felt like she needed to either scream or cry, or maybe even both, but suddenly the rational side of her spoke up and she was pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed her mom's number first, but quickly discovered that her phone was still sitting on her nightstand, plugged into its charger. She tried her dad's number next but after five calls, all of which went to voicemail she was beginning to feel panic rising within her once again. She didn't know where they were, one of them was obviously hurt, and her dad wasn't picking up his phone. Her gut churned and her mind was racing with thoughts, images, possibilities, when somewhere from the depths of her brain a voice spoke up and she was suddenly running out of the house and down the street toward Gibbs' house.

Tali ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could. His house was only a block away and she was inside within a couple of minutes.

"Gibbs!" She yelled loudly, looking around the bottom floor. "Gibbs, I need your help! Something's wrong, Mom and Dad are gone, and I don't know what to do. Gibbs! Where are you?"

She looked frantically around the main floor. Not finding him there she went downstairs, but he wasn't there either. She ran upstairs to where his bedroom was and when she didn't find him there she began to panic. She went back downstairs to double check and suddenly found herself pacing back and forth by the back door. Her hands ran nervously up and down her thighs. It was all too much; the smell of blood on her clothes, the panic, the loneliness, it was too much like Israel. The memories began bubbling up inside her, filling her head with panic and making the scars on her legs burn. Tali lowered herself onto the cold wood floor and pulled her legs up to her chest in a fetal position. She closed her eyes and tried to push the memories away as tears streamed down her face.

…

_A few minutes earlier_

Gibbs had just finished tilling up his garden and was about to stand up when he saw Tali walk past the back door. She seemed to be yelling something, probably his name, so he stood and made his way to the back of the house. He was about halfway there when she passed to door again and he froze on the spot. Her eyes were frantic and she was clearly distressed. She paced back and when his eyes locked on the blood that was covering her hands and clothes he broke into a run.

When he made it inside he found her on the floor, curled up in a ball. She was shaking, whether it was from the tears or something else, he wasn't sure. He approached her slowly and crouched down to her level.

"Tali?" He tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tali? What happened?"

She didn't open her eyes for a few minutes, but when she did and realized he was there she sat up and began talking a mile a minute. "There was blood and-and they were gone. Dad he-he wouldn't pick up his phone. I didn't know what to do, so I came here but then-then you weren't here and it was just-I mean everything was-"

"Tali." Gibbs fixed her with a hard but concerned gaze and placed his hand on the side of her face.

"Yeah?" She responded, her voice thick with emotion and her eyes watery with tears.

"We're gonna do this one step at a time." He looked her over, "First, are you hurt?"

She shook her head, "No."

"Okay, why are you covered in blood?"

They continued the question answer routine until Gibbs was sure he had as much information as he could get from her. Afterwards he took her upstairs, dug out an old pair of NIS sweats and a hoody and directed her to his shower. Once he heard the water turn on he pulled out his cell phone and called Jenny. He explained the situation and she said that she would starting making calls to all the local hospitals and get back with him as soon as she heard something.

Tali only took about ten minutes in the shower and when she came out her eyes were red and puffy, so he pulled her into a hug and said, "Everything'll be fine."

"Promise?" she whispered, leaning her head against his chest.

He brushed a hand over her damp hair, "Promise."

His phone rang loudly from inside his jeans pocket and he pulled back, placing the phone to his ear. Tali kept eye contact with him the whole time he was on the phone, watching closely to see if his stony face betrayed any emotion. He didn't say much, mostly 'Yeah' and 'Got it'.

Gibbs hung up the phone, without saying goodbye to whoever was on the other end and turned to her, "That was Director Sheppard. Called her while you were in the shower and she said she would call around the hospitals."

"Who is it?" Tali asked, drawing in a shaky breath.

Gibbs sighed and ran a hand threw his hair, "It's your mom."

**A/N: Duh duh duhhhh! Sorry, had to leave you on a cliffhanger, first one for this story and it certainly won't be the last. Reviews are appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for leaving you all on a cliffhanger, I was a counselor at a summer camp this past week but I started writing this next chapter as soon as I got home. Hope you like it!**

Chapter Eight

Tony sat in the dark hospital room, his head propped up by his elbow to keep himself awake so that he could continue to listen to his wife's breathing and hear the heartbeat of his unborn child on the monitor. These were the only sounds that made him believe that they were both still alive. He glanced out the window at the dark cloudy sky that had been filled with the golden-pink hues of a sunrise only a few short hours ago. It had been a beautiful day for a run and he had taken advantage of it.

"Idiot." Tony muttered quietly, glancing back at Ziva who was sleeping, her face peaceful.

Just before he had left the house to take a jog around the neighborhood, he had felt this small pang of doubt in his gut. It felt like something was telling him to stay, but he had ignored it and continued out the door. He mentally kicked himself. He should have listened to his gut, he always listened to his gut, he was pretty sure it was even one of Gibbs' rules. Tony looked at Ziva in the hospital bed beside him and knew he would never be able to forgive himself for what had happened that morning.

_Flashback_

_Tony jogged up the front porch and opened the front door, when he stepped inside the cool air conditioned house he let out a sigh. It was the middle of September but the August heat had still yet to let go of its hold on D.C. and the surrounding states. He toed off his shoes and headed into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and pour Ziva a cup of the tea he had started before leaving for his jog. The doctor had told them that coffee was off limits and she had recently started replacing her normal morning brew with a cup of Earl Gray. _

_Tony carefully carried the mug upstairs to their room. He was surprised to find her spot on the bed empty and set down the tea on her nightstand. He heard movement in the bathroom and sighed. She hadn't been subject to any morning sickness in a few weeks, but the doctor had also mentioned that the symptom could be off and on throughout her pregnancy. Tony slowly opened the door and what he found in front of him was not at all what he had expected._

_Ziva was kneeling on the floor in a puddle of blood, clutching her stomach, her face was scrunched up in pain. She had obviously heard him enter because her head snapped up and her gaze was now boring into his._

"_Tony, some-something is wrong." Her voice was small and full of pain._

_For a split second time froze and he was scared, confused, angry, and panicking all at once. But it was only for a second and then he was scooping her up into his arms, grabbing his set of keys from his dresser and walking back downstairs._

"_Tony what if I-I mean what if the baby-"_

_She looked up at him as he walked into the garage, her brown eyes welling up with tears and he quickly cut her off, "No, Zi. Don't you dare think like that for even a second. The baby is fine."_

_Tony sat her in the passenger seat of the car and strapped her in. He stood back up and was about to close the door when her hand flew up to his forearm. _

_Holding onto him tightly she asked, "Promise?"_

"_I promise." _

Tony ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily, trying to push down the lump in his throat. The look on her face when he had found her in the bathroom would not leave his mind. It was the most vulnerable she had ever looked in front of him and it broke his heart. He looked at her peaceful face and vowed that he would never again let anything like this happen to her, the feeling that he might lose her hurt entirely too much.

"Dad?"

The small voice jolted him from his thoughts and he turned to the door; his heart broke even more. Tali was standing in the doorway, her hair was wet and hung limp around her face, and she seemed to drown in the oversized pair of NIS sweats and hoody that she wore, but the worst was the look on her face. It mirrored Ziva's, but the pain in her eyes had been replaced with worry and confusion and her eyes were filled with tears. A few were beginning to fall and she hastily wiped them away.

Tony stood and not a split second after he had moved away from the chair she was in his arms, hugging him tightly as she sobbed into his chest. He gently rubbed his hand up and down her back with one hand and cradled the back of her head with the other.

"I thought that-that maybe one of you wa-was dead." Tali spoke between sobs. "There was bl-blood and I went to Ga-Gibbs' and then Director Sh-Sheppard called and said that it was Ima. Is-is she okay?"

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to pull himself together for her. "She's fine. The baby is fine. Don't worry, we're all fine."

"Motek?" Tony and Tali both turned to the hospital bed where Ziva was now awake and sitting up.

She had made enough room on the bed for someone to sit and she waved her daughter over. Tali didn't hesitate and flung herself into her mother's arms. They had a small exchange in Hebrew, a language they both reverted to in times of need and Tony desperately wished he could know what they were saying. It was only a brief conversation and Ziva soon turned her gaze to Tony and tried to give him a reassuring look before her eyes were drawn to the doorway.

"Hello Gibbs."

Tony turned his head and sure enough, there was Gibbs leaning against it. His face was blank to any passerby, but both Tony and Ziva could see concern in his icy blue gaze.

"You okay Ziver?" He asked gently.

"Yes, I am fine." She flicked her gaze toward Tony and then looked back at Gibbs, the look in her eyes was significant and he got the message loud and clear.

"C'mon DiNozzo, you look like you could use some coffee." He took a step out of the room but Tony didn't move a muscle.

"Boss I don't think I should…" Tony trailed off and looked back at Ziva and Tali.

Ziva was running her fingers through her daughter's hair and she tried to give him the most reassuring smile she could muster up. "I am fine. Go."

He took a hesitant step and she nodded her head. Tony took one last fleeting glance back at his girls as he followed Gibbs out the door and down the hall to the elevator. Tony knew they weren't really going for coffee, but he assumed the hospital wouldn't appreciate their 'Emergency Stop' button being used unnecessarily so he passed the elevator that Gibbs had stopped in front of and pushed the door open that led to the stairwell. He leaned against the railing inside the landing for the fourth floor and waited for Gibbs to follow him inside. When he heard the door open behind him he turned and he didn't even realize what he was doing until he was already hugging Gibbs tightly.

Gibbs hugged back just as hard as he felt Tony begin to shake with sobs. He held the man he viewed as his son tightly, not saying a word but silently conveying to him that he was there for him. Tony slowly returned back to his normal state, albeit a little red in the eyes, and moved away from Gibbs taking a seat on the bottom step of the staircase that went up to the next floor.

Gibbs joined him a moment later. "What happened?"

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I came back from my run this morning and she was in the bathroom. There was blood everywhere and she was in a lot of pain. I brought her here and they said she was losing the baby. Somehow they stopped it, I think they explained it, but I wasn't really paying attention. I could have lost them both Gibbs."

The older man gripped Tony's shoulder, knowing the feeling, "But you didn't Tony. That's what matters."

"I know, but the feeling that I might…" He trailed off, staring down at his feet.

"The feeling that you did is much worse Tony, be thankful that you didn't." He whispered roughly, looking out the window to his right, then back at Tony. "What happens now?"

Tony let out a breath, "The doctor said that the reason this happened was due to her age; something about being older makes women have a higher chance of miscarriage. She's putting Ziva on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy and she said that once the baby's lungs are developed enough she wants to do a C-section just to be safe."

"Alright, how long does that take?" Gibbs questioned.

"Until late December I think. Ziva will be eight months a few days after Christmas." He responded, hoping he was getting everything the doctor had said correct.

"Then we just have to make it to Christmas." Gibbs stood and held open the door.

"We?" Tony asked confused, but stood as well.

"Yeah. Ziva, You, me, Tali, Abs, McGee. We, Tony." Gibbs walked back into the hall, listening to make sure Tony followed.

"We." Tony pondered the word and for the first time in hours a small smile appeared on his face. "I like the sound of that."

**A/N: Yay! No miscarriage! And some of you really thought I was going to be that evil? Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter. Once you're done reading this go to my profile and vote for weather you think/want the baby to be a boy or a girl. I'm not really sure yet myself and I could go either way so I am interested to see what you guys think/want. Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I put up a poll for whether you want the baby to be a boy or a girl and so far there are only two votes -_- C'mon people, work with me here, I'm letting you decide! ;) **

**There is mention of scaily reptilians in this chapter, hope you can all figure out on your own why Tony is scared of them. :D **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter! **

Chapter Nine

Tony was in their bathroom getting ready for work, Tali was down the hall in her bathroom getting ready for school, and Ziva, well Ziva was where she had been for the past month; stuck in bed. She sighed leaning her head against the head board, dreading another day of boredom.

Tony walked out of the bathroom and she lifted her head up, watching him fuss with his tie for a few seconds before taking pity on him and motioning him over, "Let me do it."

He sat down beside her on the bed and within seconds she had his tie straightened out. "Thank ya sweetcheeks." He leaned down and kissed her.

When they pulled apart she looked up at him with a pleading gaze, "Stay home with me today?"

Tony sighed, "You know I can't. Gibbs would kill me."

"Not if you let me call him and I ask very nicely if you can stay." She replied sweetly.

He chuckled and kissed her on the forehead, "Not gonna happen."

"I thought it might work this time." She huffed. "So much for the 'Third time's the win'."

"Charm. Third time's the charm." He corrected, suppressing a laugh.

"The phrase does not matter. What matters is that I am going to be bored out of my mind once again!" She cried, crossing her arms over her stomach before turning away from him.

Tony sighed guiltily, "I'm sorry Zi, I wish that you didn't have to be stuck here all day but-"

"I know, it is safer for the baby." She looked back at him, her eyes apologetic. "I am sorry, I should not have snapped at you. It is just that I get so bored. I am already halfway through your movie collection and knitting- or should I say trying to knit- a baby blanket has turned out to be neither easy nor entertaining."

He smiled sympathetically, brushing away a curl that had fallen out of her ponytail. "Alright, then how about today you start planning out what you'd like Tali and I to do with the nursery? You can't help us move anything in there, but you can look online for what you want and sketch out where you want everything to go."

Her eyes lit up at his proposition, "Really? You are alright with me picking everything out?"

"Sure." He shrugged nonchalantly. "We're not finding out if it's a boy or a girl so I won't have to worry about anything too girly." He smiled briefly before his voice took on a serious tone. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Promise me no jungle themes or anything else that might include iguanas." Tony shuddered as the last word left his lips.

"Iguanas?" She questioned, her brow wrinkling in confusion.

"It's a long story." He shook his head and checked his watch. "I gotta go."

"Alright, if you say so." She rested her hands on his shoulders and gave him the most passionate kiss she could, while pulling away just too soon so that it would leave him wanting more.

He grinned widely at her when they pulled apart, "Nice try Zi."

Ziva glared at him, "Hairy butt."

Tony ignored her comment and leaned in for another kiss. The heat was turned down a notch, but it was still filled with love.

"Gross." Tony pulled away from his wife and both of their gazes turned to Tali who was standing in the door, her nose wrinkled up in disgust. "I came to say goodbye before I leave, but I think I'll just stay here."

Ziva laughed, but narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "How is this any different than when you kiss Jake?"

The effect of her words was instantaneous and Tali's eyes widened, her face turning as red as a beet. "Um…well…I'm just gonna go now. Love you both. Bye!"

She disappeared in a flash and when Ziva looked back at Tony and their eyes met, they both burst out laughing. The baby started kicking in protest to the sudden movement so Ziva quieted down, rubbing circles over her stomach.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone turn so red so fast." Tony said breathlessly, resting his hand on top of Ziva's. "Hey you in there, calm down."

She smiled at his words, "I probably should not have said anything."

He gave her a quick kiss and stood up, smoothing down his jacket, "She'll be fine. I'll see you tonight ninja."

"Say hello to the real world for me?" She asked longingly.

"Of course." He winked at her as he backed toward their door. "Love ya Zi."

"Ani ohevet otcha, Tony." She replied.

When he had left and she heard the front door open and close she looked down at her belly and stroked her hands over the spot where the baby was moving. "I guess it is just you and I again hakatan sheli."

* * *

A few hours later found Ziva sitting on the couch downstairs, flipping through the channels trying to find something that was not Halloween related. It was October 31st and for the past four hours she had been watching talk shows centered around decorating for the holiday and how to dress up your kids interspersed with movies ranging from scary to hopelessly romantic. It had been entertaining for a while but it had finally gotten to the point where now it was the last thing she wanted to watch. Which meant that it ended up being the only thing that was on.

She sighed, tossing the remote down on the cream colored cushions of the couch before standing up and padding across the hall into the kitchen. Thankfully Ziva had talked the doctor into putting her on partial bed rest which meant that she was able to move around the house when she wanted as long as she spent most of the day resting. She began to root around the fridge for something to eat, craving something salty yet sweet and her hands had just wrapped around the jelly and the deli sliced ham when there was a knock on the front door.

Ziva sat both items on the counter and curiously made her way through the dining room to the front door. So far during her month on bed rest the only visitor she had gotten was when Tony would get Gibbs to let him take a long lunch on days when they didn't have a case, but Tony definitely didn't knock on his own front door.

As she neared the door the knocking became more rapid, "I am coming!"

She opened the door and was suddenly in the death grip of a forensic scientist that had clearly had too many Caf-Pows that morning. "Oh Ziva, it's just not the same without you! Tony just mopes around until Gibbs slaps him and that works for a while, but then one of us will catch him looking at your desk and then Gibbs will slap him again. It's just a horrible cycle and-wait why aren't you saying anything?"

"Can't breathe." She managed to get out.

"Opps!" Abby released her grip and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry Ziva."

She smiled, opening the door a little wider so Abby could come in, "What are you doing here?"

Her smile grew from sheepish to excited and Ziva instantly grew suspicious, "Well you know its Halloween…"

"Yes." She nodded her head slowly and craned her neck around Abby as two people loaded down with shopping bags made their way up the sidewalk.

"Which just happens to be my favorite holiday of the year." Abby stepped aside so the two girls, who Ziva now recognized as Izzy and Tali, could get by.

"Where do you want us to put all these decorations Mom?" Izzy huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face with a puff of her lips.

"Um…just set them in the living room for now." She responded, trying to avoid the daggers Ziva was now sending her way.

"Abby, what are the decorations for?" She whispered harshly.

"A party." Abby answered, slowly closing the front door behind her.

"A Halloween party?" Ziva questioned further.

"Mhmm." The goth nodded and followed the girls into the living room.

"Why are you having a Halloween party in my house?" She asked stopping in the doorway of the living room, one hand resting on her hip.

Tali looked over at Ziva and then pivoted her gaze to Abby, a small smile on her face, "Oh no Abby, she's broken out the hand on the hip move. I'd take cover if I were you."

Ziva glared at Tali who quickly went back to taking items out of the party store bags. "Abby?"

She sighed exasperatedly, "Tony said that you looked like you could use a little fun and put me in charge of making sure you had some. So I took the girls out of school a little early so they could help me set everything up, with permission from Tony of course, and tonight we're going to have a little party. You don't have to do anything except for sit on the couch and tell us where you want the decorations to go and what kind of food you would like me to go get."

The idea sounded a little more appealing once she heard that she wouldn't have to do anything major, but she was still skeptical. "Who's coming?"

"Well, they just wrapped up the case they've been working on since yesterday, so as long as nothing else happens it will be me, you, Izzy,Tali, Tony, Tim, Gibbs, Director Sheppard, Jimmy and Ducky." She counted off the names on her fingers.

"Ducky?" Jimmy had stayed on after everyone had left and had taken up Ducky's old position, but as far as Ziva knew Dr. Donald Mallard had moved down the coast to Georgia after retiring from NCIS.

"Yep. He's back in D.C. for a visit with the family. A.K.A. us!" She squealed.

Ziva smiled, excited to see him again after all these years, "That is wonderful."

"So you're not mad?" Abby asked expectantly.

She pursed her lips and looked around like she was seriously contemplating the question, then turned back to Abby with a smile, "I guess it won't be too bad."

"Yes!" Abby jumped in circle and pumped her fists in the air.

Tali snorted at the action and Izzy rolled her eyes in embarrassment, "Seriously Mom?"

"What about this isn't serious to you?" she danced up to her daughter and spun her around in a circle. "It's been years since we've had a real Halloween party! I'm pulling out all the stops! Costumes, punch, _huge_ bowls of candy, a talking skeleton…oooh! Do you think we'll have enough time to run home and grab my smoke machine?"

**A/N: My version of Abby given free reign when planning a Halloween party. XD**

**The combo Ziva grabbed from the fridge had me cringing when I wrote it, but I couldn't think of anything else that didn't include pickles which is a completely overused craving food. **

**Ani ohev otach means I love you. Hakatan sheli means little one.**

**Pretty please go vote, the poll is up on my profile page :) Reviews are welcome and highly appreciated!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey all! Thanks to the nine more of you that voted on the poll. I would love it if everyone reading this story voted! As of now it looks like it is going to be a girl but I'm not going to close the poll until the chapter before she has the baby which is about…four to five chapters away if everything goes according to plan. So if you had to choose if you wanted the baby to be a boy or a girl, and you want to, the poll is up on my profile. I'll make sure to tell you the specifics of when the poll will be closed soon, but right now it's time for the next chapter of This Is Home. Enjoy!**

Chapter Ten

"Abby, Tony and Ziva already said no to the fake blood? What are you doing in here?" McGee's voice drifted out of the kitchen to Ziva's ears from her spot on the couch and she had to bite her lip in an effort not to laugh.

Abby had been in a hurry to get everything ready that afternoon and with the help of Izzy and Tali, the place had been decked out to her liking by five. Well, to Abby's liking that is. Ziva had been promised rights as to where and what decorations were put up, but it was hard to say no to anything the Goth suggested, so she had basically given Abby free reign. There had only been two instances in which Ziva had cause to protest; one being the smoke machine and two being the fake blood. The liquid had Ziva's stomach churning and thankfully by the time Abby suggested the idea, Tony had made it home from work and was there to back her up. But if McGee's declaration had any truth to it, the sneaky forensic scientist was giving it one more try.

Ziva smirked to herself and looked around the room. The party had been in full swing for about an hour and so far everything was going according to plan. There was a Halloween movie playing on the TV, but as no one was paying attention to it, it was mostly just background noise. A snack table had been set up to the right of the TV set and, as promised, three large bowls of candy and Abby's homemade punch sat atop it. Though Ziva suspected that Abby had spiked it with Caf-Pow when she wasn't looking and she had avoided it thus far.

Tony was on the other side of the room chatting with Ducky, or rather listening to the retired medical examiner tell him a story. Ziva caught Tony's eyes for a split second and she smiled at him sympathetically, because even though he enjoyed the old man's stories she knew that her husband didn't have as much patience for them as she did. Her gaze flitted over to Gibbs and the Director who appeared to be talking casually with one another if the smiles on their faces were any indication. She smiled, wishing she was allowed to stand, but every time she tried someone said that she should stay on the couch and rest. Rest, she was really getting tired of that word.

"Hey, Mom?" Ziva looked over to find that Tali had plopped down on the couch beside her.

"Yes, ahava?" she responded, knowing that she was asking for something by the way she said 'Mom'.

"Jake invited me to this Halloween party that one of his friends was throwing and I was going to ask if I could go earlier, but with Abby and everything, I didn't really have time." Tali explained, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. "It's Friday, so I wouldn't be out late on a school night and Jake said that he would make sure to have me back by curfew."

Ziva didn't respond immediately, mulling the idea over in her head, "Will this young man's parents be there?"

"Yeah, Tyler's dad is a CEO of some big company and it wouldn't look good if Tyler had some big party without anyone there. I think Jake said his mom would be there." She supplied quickly, already prepared for the question.

The idea of adult supervision eased her worries a little bit, "Alright, you can go, but there are a few conditions."

"That's fair enough." Tali responded, now relaxed after getting the big part dealt with.

"One, when Jake comes to pick you up at…"

"Six-thirty."

"Six thirty," Ziva glanced at the clock on the cable box that read 6:13 PM and inwardly cringed at the thought of having a little over fifteen minutes to tell Tony, "he will come inside so that we can meet him. Two-"

"Wait, by we do you mean everyone here? My whole family in one night, are you trying to chase him off?" She questioned, her cheeks flaming angrily.

Ziva expected her reaction and plowed ahead, "He will not have to talk to everyone, but I will make sure that everyone here is on their best behavior."

"Gibbs and Dad especially." She muttered, glancing at both men.

Ziva bit back a laugh, "Of course. Now the second condition is that if this friend of Jake's lied to him and in fact there are no parents and there are questionable things at the party, you will…" She paused trying to find the right words to phrase her request without treating Tali like a child, "I trust that you will make the right decision."

"Meaning if there's beer or whatever you want me to leave?" She asked, making sure they were on the same page.

Ziva nodded, "Yes."

"That's fine. Jake would probably get mad at Tyler if he lied and we would end up going to a movie or something." She agreed, remembering a party they'd been to earlier in the year where the same thing had happened. She hadn't mentioned it to her parents, but nothing really happened, they just left and went to a movie. "So…is that it?"

"Yes. Now please go let Izzy help you get ready, she has been staring at us since you sat down." They both looked over at Izzy, who was standing near the snack table and averted her eyes as soon as she saw them looking at her.

Tali, laughed and stood up, "Okay I will. Thanks Mom."

"You are welcome Tali." Ziva stood as well, watching the two girls hurry upstairs before walking over to Tony speaking before he could protest her walking around, "I need to speak with you and Gibbs in the kitchen."

He watched dumbfounded as she walked across the hall into the kitchen without a backward glance. Tony looked around the room and spotted Gibbs, when he caught the older man's gaze he jerked his head toward the kitchen and once Gibbs nodded, Tony left the room.

"What's this about DiNozzo?" Gibbs whispered, following him across the hallway.

"Dunno. Ziva said she needed to talk to us." He answered as the woman in question came into view.

Ziva was filling up the tea pot with water at the sink when they entered the kitchen, "Tali asked me a few minutes ago if she could go with Jake to a party his friend is having. I have already given her my consent and-"

"What? Without even talking to me first?" Tony interrupted.

She shut off the water and moved the pot over to the stove, "I knew that you would protest and seeing as he is coming in about ten minutes I did not want to argue with you." She ventured a quick glance at her husband and as expected he did not look too happy. "I have already told her that he must come in so that we can officially meet him and she said that there are supposed to be parents at the party, but if there are not and there is alcohol being served we have an understanding that she will not be staying."

"You've already decided she's allowed to go, so why I am I in here?" Tony asked harshly.

Ziva glared at him sharply and he instantly regretted crossing his pregnant wife, "I thought that you _might_ want to know where our daughter is going and I promised her that I would keep both of you in check when he arrives."

Gibbs smirked at Tony's rookie mistake, but when his mind registered the word 'both' he looked over at her, his brows drawn together, "Both of us?"

"Tali is smart enough to know that Tony is not the only overprotective man in her family." Her eyes softened as she leaned back against the counter, "We all know that when it comes to Izzy and Tali, you would pound anyone that hurt them into the ground."

"Pummel." Tony corrected, this time Ziva didn't glare at him but only smiled.

"Exactly, so if you could please both behave yourselves I would appreciate it and so would Tali." She gave them both a significant look before turning back to the tea pot which was now steaming.

"Sure thing Ziver." Gibbs replied, nodding at her when she looked back at him.

Once he had left the room, Tony came up behind Ziva and snaked his arms around her waist so that his hands were resting on her belly, "Sorry I snapped at you."

"It is okay, did I not snap back at you?" She bobbed the tea bag up and down in her mug.

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have made you. It's just when it comes to Tali and boys…I just…" He trailed off, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Ziva smiled warmly and looked back at him, "You want to protect her heart from being hurt. It is understandable, I would like to do the same, but at the same time I know that she is in high school and that the chances of them lasting longer than a year are slim to none. There is a good chance that she will have to experience heartbreak. On top of all the pain she experienced last year, physically and mentally, I wish that we could protect her from anymore hurting, but we must let her learn and grow."

Tony sighed, "How is it that you always know what to say?"

"I do not _always_ know what to say."She corrected turning around in his arms.

He grinned wryly at her, "Well, than how about ninety nine point nine percent of the time?"

She laughed, "If I say yes, will that make you happy?"

He nodded his head, "Yep."

"Alright, no then." Ziva teased, winking at him.

Tony frowned, looking down at her stomach, "Your mother is very silly, little ninja."

"Little ninja?" She questioned, trying not to laugh.

"What? We aren't finding out if it's a him or a her so we've got to call it something." He defended. "I thought my nickname was very appropriate."

"We'll see." Ziva grabbed his hand and her mug of tea and they were barely in the hallway when the doorbell chimed.

"I'll just go-"

Ziva squeezed his hand tightly, before he could move, "You can go tell Tali that he is here. I will not let you scare him within the first five seconds that he is in our home."

He took in Ziva's firm gaze and turned towards the stairs, grumbling a barely audible, "Fine."

She just rolled her eyes and walked down the hall to answer the door, "Hello, Jacob. Come in, Tali should be down in a minute."

He smiled at her and stepped inside, holding out his hand, "Hi. You can call me Jake, Mrs. DiNozzo."

She smiled back at him and shook his hand, "It is nice to finally meet you, Jake."

"You too." He glanced down the hall, "It sounds like you're having your own party here."

Ziva laughed, "Yes, it was a last minute thing that we threw together." She looked at the stairs to find Tony coming down, followed by the girls. "There she is now."

Tony got to them first and nodded at Jake. "Hello."

"Good evening, sir." Once again he held out his hand and Tony shook it firmly.

Tali peaked around her dad and smiled widely at Jake, "Hey."

"Hi." He grinned, "I like the ears."

She blushed, fingering the felt headband with attached cat ears that Izzy had given her to wear, "Really? You didn't say if it was costume, so I wasn't sure…"

"No, they're really cute, trust me." He winked at her and she smiled.

"Thanks." She looked over at her mom who flicked her gaze towards the living room; she got the hint. "Um, why don't I introduce you to everyone?"

His eyes widened, but he tried to hide the surprise on his face quickly, as he was still trying to act natural around her father, "Sure."

Tali grabbed his hand and led him down the hall, whispering in his ear, "Sorry, Mom's orders."

"S'no big deal." He shrugged, but when he looked over at her, he knew she could tell he was lying.

"I'll be quick, don't worry." She winked at him, just as they stopped inside the entrance to the room. "Hey everybody, this is my friend Jake. Jake this is everybody. We're leaving now, so… bye!"

Tali turned, trying to make a quick exit before anyone had a chance to say anything, cringing when she heard Abby say, "Tali DiNozzo, you're seriously going to leave _my_ Halloween party like _that_?"

She looked at Jake, sending him an apologetic smile, "She's one to hold a grudge, I'll go explain and be right back."

'Right back' turned into fifteen minutes; the first five of which consisted of Abby giving Tali the silent treatment. She was worried about Jake being cornered by someone, but when she glanced behind Abby during a rant, it appeared that he was doing just fine, he even appeared to be striking up conversations with each person in the room. She just hoped he had enough sense to leave Gibbs be, because even though she was pretty sure her Mom had talked to him and her Dad, there wasn't really such a thing as telling Gibbs what to do.

Gibbs watched with a smirk as Tali tried to reconcile with Abby, then he turned his attention to Jake who was talking casually with Tony and McGee. Ziva had asked him to behave, but striking a little fear into the boy that was dating his granddaughter couldn't hurt too much. Gibbs was standing by the punch bowl and when he made eye contact with Jake he jerked his head, silently asking for a word. He watched Jake excuse himself from the conversation politely before striding over to him.

"Hello sir, I'm Jake." He held out his hand.

Gibbs took it, "You can call me, Gibbs."

"Nice to meet you, Gibbs." He replied with a polite smile.

Finished with the introductions, Gibbs got right to the point laying a hand on his shoulder he leaned towards the young man's ear. "Seven people in this room work for NCIS; one is a forensic scientist, two are or were medical examiners, three are Special Agents, and the last one is the Director of the whole agency. I'm tellin' you this because if you're dating my granddaughter, I feel it's only fair ya know how easily we could hide your body if you hurt her in anyway."

Gibbs backed away and silence hung in the air for a few moments, "Understood, sir."

The older man half-smiled and gave him a pat on the back, "Good and enough with the sir. It's Gibbs."

Jake nodded and looked across the room, glad to see Tali finishing up her conversation. "Um…good talk Gibbs…see you around."

Tali met Jake by the hallway and they waved goodbye to the room before taking their leave. Jake's car was parked on the opposite side of the street and he made sure to get around to the passenger side before she did so he could open the door for her.

"What a gentleman." She joked, sending him a wink before he closed the door.

He ran back around the front of the car and hopped in, "Where to m'lady?" he asked starting up the car.

"I believe our presence has been requested at a gala that Sir Tyler is hosting." She played along as he pulled away from the curb.

Jake glanced at her from the corner of his eye and laughed, "Nice British accent."

"Like you could do any better." She punched him in the arm before flipping through his preset radio stations, finally settling on a rock station.

They rode in silence for a while until they came to a stop light and he turned to her, "So you're gonna be a big sister huh?"

Her eyes widened in embarrassment, "I haven't mentioned that yet, have I?"

"Nope." He replied with a small smile. "Big age difference bother you?"

"No, not really. It's actually kind of a long story." Tali looked out of the window as the light turned green and they continued their journey.

He could sense that she wasn't ready to share and didn't push for any more information. "I've got one question though."

"Okay…" she looked over at him, puzzled by his suddenly worried expression.

"Gibbs, would he seriously kill me?"

**A/N: :D Yes, yes he would. **

**Wow, that turned out to be a rather long chapter, oh well, no complaints right? Hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are appreciated! **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"He said that to you?" Tali cried as they pulled up across the street from Tyler's house.

After questioning if Gibbs would actually kill him, she had forced Jake to fess up the reason why he would even ask her such a question. Tali was infuriated to find out that her grandfather had threatened him and she made a mental to confront him about it later.

They both exited his car and Tali walked around the hood and met him on the other side, "Well if anyone's going to die, it'll be him."

Jake laughed and intertwined their fingers together, "I'm sorry Tal, but I don't think you could take him."

She raised her eyebrow at him as they crossed the street that was lined with cars, "I am glad that you don't underestimate him, but you underestimate me?"

He shrugged as they continued up the sidewalk, the music from inside the house growing louder as they got closer, "Never seen you in a fight."

"You haven't seen him in one either." She pointed out.

Letting out a light chuckle, Jake turned to her when they stopped at the front door, "That's true, but I don't think I would want to see him in a fight. Given my options I would rather take on you, a fifteen year old girl who looks like she would never hurt even a fly, than Gibbs, a retired marine who works for a government agency."

Tali sighed, "I guess you have a point."

"But you know what?" He prompted, placing a finger under chin to tilt her head so she was looking directly in his eyes.

"No, what?" she responded.

"When it comes to the whole, 'killing me if I ever hurt you' thing, I think I would let Gibbs do it." He said, sure of every word that left his mouth. "Because anyone that could hurt someone as wonderful and beautiful as you deserves to get hurt in return."

This statement took Tali by surprise; she couldn't understand how after only two and a half months he felt this way about her, of all people. "I trust you value your life too much to let any of those things happen?"

He shook his head, "Nope, it's yours that's worth any kind of value."

Jake's hand found the side of her face and he pulled her in for a kiss. Tali's hands threaded into his hair as she kissed him back, slowly building up the heat of the kiss until they pulled back, gasping for air.

Her brown eyes twinkled with desire as she stared into his blue ones, "We should probably go in."

"We don't have to. I told Tyler we were a maybe." He blurted out.

She rolled her eyes at him, grabbing the door knob and his hand at the same time, "Nice try."

By the time they arrived the party had been going on for a while and everyone was having a great time. As promised, Tyler's mom was chaperoning the event and there was not an alcoholic beverage in sight. The only thing that came close was a bunch of red solo cups filled with _Monster_ that were being used for a game of 'Pop Pong'. Tali only played one round with Jake before deciding that the game was ridiculous and the energy drink was disgusting.

Afterwards they ended up just walking around the house, hand in hand, mingling with the other guests. Her ears were a big hit and a couple of Jake's friends had taken to calling her 'Cat Woman'. They were talking with a couple of Junior girls who were on the basketball team with Tali, when she realized that she was the only freshman at the party. It didn't really bother her, in fact it made her feel good. Jake's friends had accepted her into their circle and in turn they had become her friends.

About halfway through the party Tyler announced that _Silence of the Lambs_ was this year's horror movie of choice and would be playing downstairs in their finished basement on the big screen TV. Everyone slowly trickled downstairs for the feature presentation, the couples took to the couches and the single girls and guys sat on the floor, guys strategically positioned themselves so that the girls had a shoulder to hide their faces in if they got scared.

Tali wasn't a big fan of scary movies and if pressed for information, she would admit to the fact that they usually gave her nightmares. She and Jake were curled up together in a loveseat, her head rested on his shoulder and she made sure that he was holding her hand at all times. Throughout the movie she had to keep telling herself that Hannibal Lecter was a fictional character over and over again and so when Jake moved his hand to rest on her thigh she barely noticed. That was until he kissed the back of her head in the middle of an intense scene and she was drawn away from the screen by the feeling of his hand sitting right on top of the word on her right leg that was etched into the skin under her jeans.

The feel of his hand on her thigh made her skin crawl and visions of the drunken man from that night a year ago took over her brain. She desperately tried to push the scenes running through her head and the repulsion away, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from his hand. What was supposed to be a comforting touch scared her more than any horror movie she'd ever seen and she knew she had to get out of there or she might scream.

Tali didn't even try to come up with an excuse as she hastily hopped off the couch and bolted upstairs. She ran through the kitchen, past the living room, and out the front door and she didn't stop until she was leaning against the passenger side of Jake's car. She pulled her feet up to her chest and rested her head on her knees, not realizing how badly she was shaking until her teeth knocked together causing her chin to hit her knee cap hard. Pain shot through her chin and mouth and she began to cry. The cause however, was not the physical pain, but that of the mental and emotional kind that was coursing through her.

"Tali! Are you out here?" A voice boomed across the street. "What the heck just happened?"

She barely registered that it was Jake's voice that was calling out to her and when he eventually found her huddled up against the side of his car she couldn't speak through her tears. But that didn't appear to be a problem, because he just sat right down beside her, pulled her into his arms and let her cry against his chest. He didn't speak, didn't utter a word as she sobbed and shook uncontrollably. It took her a long time to calm down, but her cries eventually quieted into soft hiccups and her body quit shaking.

Jake didn't say anything for a while. He stroked her hair and back comfortingly, and placed light kisses on the top of her head, but he didn't speak. Tali was too spent to start the conversation that she knew would be coming next so she just waited out the silence, focusing on trying to keep her breathing steady.

"I'm not going to try and come up with reasons as to why that just happened." Jake said, breaking the silence. "I'd like it if you could just tell me the truth."

She looked up at him, saw the concern for her in his eyes and sighed, "Are you sure you want to hear it? It's not a very pretty story and you'll never look at me the same way again."

He studied her face intently. His hand cupped her cheek while his thumb moved back and forth rhythmically just under her left eye, "Why don't you tell me the story first and I'll save my judgment for later?"

She covered his hand with her own, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "It started 15 years ago…"

Tali went on to tell her story, from beginning to end. She started with Abby and Tim's 'death's', spoke briefly of her parents' time apart, explained how she reunited with her father, and finished with her return from being held captive in Israel by her grandfather. Throughout the course of recounting her story she stayed strong and only broke down when she told him about the words on her legs. He didn't ask any questions and when she had to pause so she could push down the nauseous feeling creeping up her throat, he didn't push her to keep going. He was the perfect audience and that was what scared her the most.

When she had finally finished talking Tali waited nervously for his response, a few tears trickled down her face and she hastily wiped them away. When seconds turned into minutes fear slowly crept into her heart and mind.

Once she had resigned herself to the fact that things were over she started calculating how far away they were and figured it wouldn't take her that long to walk home. Tali slid off Jake's lap, picking up the cat ears that had long ago fallen off her head as she stood up and brushed the dirt from the ground off her pants. She headed down the sidewalk, promising herself that she wouldn't cry until she was way out of ear shot.

She'd gone a mere five feet before his hand was pulling her back to him, "Where are you going?"

Tali didn't turn to look at him and when he stepped in front of her she looked away, "Home."

"Why?" Jake stepped to the side, but once again she turned away from him.

"I knew that when or if I ever told you about all of this you wouldn't-you couldn't have feelings for me anymore." She whispered, her bottom lip quivering. "I'm damaged goods."

Jake clenched his jaw. He never in his wildest, scariest, dreams could have imagined someone going through what she had been through. Seeing what it had done to her was even worse and he had the urge to kill the Israeli bastard that had done this to her.

Instead, he stifled his rage and gently placed his hands on either side of her face and moved her head so that she had to look at him, "Don't you think for one second Talia DiNozzo, that you are damaged goods."

"But I-"

"Don't you dare say 'I am'." He interrupted. "I let you have your turn, now it's mine."

She nodded her head, "Okay."

"Since the day I first met you, I knew that there was something special about you and learning about your past hasn't changed the way I think about you. Not one little bit." He paused, not finished but not sure what to say. After a few seconds, the words hit him and before he could second guess himself he continued, "Learning about what those men did to you, did to your legs, it didn't lessen my feelings for you. It made them stronger. I love you Tali. It's only been two months but I love you. I love your smile. I love the way your voice gets all high pitched when you laugh really hard." Tali allowed herself a small smile at this last statement. "I love how strong of a person you are to have endured what you did. I love the devotion you have to your family. I love _you_."

She sniffed at a wave of tears that were brought on by a much different emotion and before he could steal it, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. Her hands snaked around his neck and his moved from her face down to her waist and before she knew what was happening Jake had lifted her off the ground and they were spinning in circles. She broke the contact with his lips, a loud laugh escaped her lips and when her voice got high pitched he set her down and kissed her again.

When they had to break the kiss for air he rested his head on her forehead, breathing heavily he whispered, "I'm sure that I love you, but I know that you weren't expecting to hear that from me tonight. Neither of were expecting for any of this to happen tonight. So I don't want you to say it back unless you really mean it, unless you're really sure. Okay? I want you to promise me you won't say until you're sure you mean it."

Her lips met his briefly and her eyes twinkled in the moonlight as she whispered quietly, "Okay, I promise."

**A/N: Awwwww :') I've updated three days earlier than usual because this was one of, if not my favorite, chapters to right and I just couldn't wait until Saturday to share it with you guys. Now I'm not sure if I'll be updating again on Saturday, so I won't promise you anything. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are very welcome and are appreciated a whole, whole lot! **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey all! I forgot to say anything about it last chapter, but a big thanks to all of you who continue to vote. As you know Halloween took up three chapters, originally I planned for two, but that didn't happen :) That also means that I have no idea what chapter this story will be ending, but I can tell you that in about 5 or 6 chapters I will be closing the poll.**

**Someone **_***cough* conservativegirl *cough* **_**has already asked if I'm looking for baby names ;) As of right now I think I've got it narrowed down to a few for each gender, but if any of you have ideas I'd be glad to hear them. **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for reading!**

Chapter Twelve

"We are most certainly _not_ naming our child _Fabio_!"

Tali glanced up the basement stairs from her spot on the couch, hearing her mother's voice from two stories above she had to bite back a laugh.

"Why not? I've been perfectly open to all the names you've suggested, even if I can't pronounce some of them! Fabio is a great name; several people in my family are named Fabio!"

"That is my point!"

Tali rolled her eyes and went back to the book she had been trying to read for the past hour. She'd retreated to their partially finished basement when her parents' voices had started growing louder. Since she had done so they had gone from topic to topic, arguing the whole time. First it was the unfurnished nursery, and then it was how long Ziva had to wait before going back to work. Tali knew that her Mom's hormones really must've been out of whack when she started yelling at her Dad for forgetting to replace the roll of toilet paper in their bathroom. She honestly had no clue how they had gone from that to baby names, but when it came to naming her baby brother, that was her guess as to what her little sibling would be, she wasn't going to let them make any final decisions during a fight.

Though she did agree with her Mom, Fabio was a horrible name.

Tali grabbed the piece of scrap paper she'd been using as a bookmark from the floor and tucked it in her book. She set the novel she'd been reading for English class on the end table and jogged upstairs. She made sure to keep her steps silent as she went up to her room to grab her phone. She unplugged it from its wall charger and then rifled through school work and other miscellaneous papers on her desk until she found a blank piece and a pen to write with. She left the note explaining where she'd gone on the kitchen counter and grabbed her coat off the rack by the door and slid her jean clad legs into her calf-length boots before slipping quietly out into the brisk November air.

She shivered a little as she stepped out onto the sidewalk, she could see her breath coming out of her nose in puffs and it made her laugh, causing more air to appear in front of her in little translucent clouds. The winter weather seemed to be moving into D.C. and the surrounding area early this year, it hadn't snowed yet, but it wouldn't be long before it did. Tali crossed her arms over her chest as she neared Gibbs' house, glad that the walk to his house was short because her cheeks were starting to sting from the chilly air.

Tali jogged up to his front door, not bothering to knock she entered his home, and left her coat and shoes by the door before heading down to the basement. But when she got all the way down the steps and found that he wasn't where she expected him to be, she wrinkled her nose in confusion and walked back upstairs. She checked the living room and the backyard but there was no sign of him in either of those places. The man she thought would be able to help her get her parents back into their right minds was nowhere to be found.

His car was in the driveway, so the only place left to check was his bedroom, which was the last place she thought she would find Gibbs at nine o' clock on a Saturday morning. She shook her head and made her way up the carpeted stairs and down the hallway to the door at the end of it. Standing just outside the room she could hear his snoring and slowly cracked the door open. As she expected Gibbs was in his bed asleep, what she didn't expect was to see Jenny Sheppard asleep in the bed beside him.

Tali slowly backed down the hall and went back downstairs, creeping quietly down to the basement to find something to do with her hands while she contemplated this new…situation. Studying the last piece of furniture Gibbs had made for the baby's room, a change table, she found that he had stained the wood, but had yet to varnish it. She went about finding a can and a brush, popping the metal lid open she got to work, her mind split between making sure her strokes against the wood were even and thinking about how she'd just found her grandfather and Jenny in bed together.

She dipped the brush back into the varnish, but as her thoughts became more consumed with confusion, she knew if she continued to work on the piece of furniture she would do something to mess it up, so she left the brush in the can. Tali walked over to Gibbs' work table, picked up a scrap block of wood, a carving tool and found an empty stretch of wall to sit against. She carved the block without looking, just wanting something to do with her hands while she tried to get her thoughts in order. She knew from the way her parents told stories about Gibbs and Jenny that their partnership as NIS agents had, at one point, involved a trip to Paris that had turned from work based to something else entirely.

But as far as she knew, nothing had happened after that. They appeared to be on friendly terms now and though it wasn't entirely impossible for none of them to have picked up that maybe they were becoming romantically involved again, it wasn't like the Gibbs or the Jenny that she knew to keep something like this from them. She didn't know why they would, as she knew everyone would be okay with it, happy that old grizzly bear Gibbs had found someone. Tali continued her carving absentmindedly, hoping they would wake up soon so that she could get him to help her and chastise him for keeping secrets from his family.

* * *

Gibbs slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the sunlight that streamed through the window on his right. He looked down, smiling at seeing Jen curled up against him using his chest as a pillow. Waking up to this sight every morning was his favorite part of the day and had been ever since she moved in a couple months ago.

The flame between them that had always been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the right moment to catch fire, had been lit at Tony and Ziva's wedding last year. It had been a beautiful wintery wedding, held on January 12th at a fancy hotel in town as neither party was very religious, although there were a few Jewish additions to the ceremony here and there that Ziva had requested. Gibbs had walked her down the aisle and Abby, Tali, and Izzy were her bridesmaids. It was a small affair, with only family and close friends in attendance, making it all the more special. When the wedding party left for pictures the room was transformed for the reception; a dance floor was set up in the middle and round tables were scattered throughout the rest of the room. It was on the dance floor that their romance heated up again.

After Tony and Ziva had shared their first dance the floor was opened to the rest of the guests and in a rare moment of chivalry Gibbs had asked Jenny to dance. The song was slow and he swayed them back and forth around the dance floor, the whole time transfixed by her beauty. She'd let her hair grow out again and it flowed down her back in perfectly manicured curls. Gibbs thought her face looked beautiful without makeup, but she did have a splash of mascara on her lashes and the shadow on her eyelids highlighting her green-grey eyes. She'd been making small talk about how beautiful the wedding was the whole time they'd been dancing and he'd only been half-listening when he interrupted her thoughts on the bridesmaids' dresses with a kiss.

It wasn't long, but it was full of love and he didn't regret it in the least. The shock on her face was evident when he'd pulled back and she had glanced around the room quickly, trying to figure out if anyone else had seen what had happened because she didn't really believe it herself. No one had seen and she'd looked back at him confused, he merely smiled and kissed her again. Gibbs had realized while dancing with her, just listening to her talk about nothing in particular, that maybe it was finally the right time for them to try again. They spent the night together at the hotel and in the morning they both admitted their feelings for each other for the first time since Paris.

Gibbs smiled reverently because he knew that after that night the rest was history. Every moment they weren't at work or otherwise occupied, they started spending together. Gibbs took things slow on the emotional level, not telling her that he loved her until he was absolutely sure of it, because he sure as hell wasn't going to mess up his second chance with her. They'd been living together for the past two months in perfect harmony…and secrecy. He pushed that thought away, they hadn't meant to keep this from the team, his family, but they kept their relationship out of the office and it wasn't his fault if no one had yet to pick up on anything.

Gibbs carefully slipped out of bed, replacing his body with a pillow so she wouldn't wake up. He grabbed a t-shirt and sweats out of his side of the dresser and put both on before heading downstairs to start coffee and breakfast. When he entered the kitchen and he was surprised when the clock on the oven read 9:12, having not slept in that late in ages. He grabbed the container of coffee from the cupboard and was about to start scooping out the grounds when he heard a noise coming from the basement.

His hand went to his hip automatically, but he wasn't wearing his holster and he shook his head at his knee-jerk reaction. Gibbs went back into the hallway and caught sight of a pair of shoes and a coat he recognized as being Tali's. He was relieved and confused at the same time. Usually when anybody visited him it was because they needed to talk, but she was just sitting in his basement when she usually would have been looking for him. Unless…Gibbs sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, she probably had gone looking for him and had found him, found him _and_ Jenny.

A second later, said woman descended the stairs tying her light purple silk robe together, "Good morning Jethro."

She greeted him with a smile and a kiss on the cheek, "Mornin'."

Jenny studied his face and found a less than pleased look on it, "What's wrong?"

"Tali." He grunted, moving back in the kitchen to finish making the coffee.

"What about her?" She snaked her arms around his waist and laid a cheek against his back.

"She's here." He turned around, resting his hands on her hips. "And I'm pretty sure she knows."

"What? How?" Her eyes grew wide with confusion.

He sighed, "Her stuff's by the door, I heard her in the basement and usually when she comes over, if I'm not down there, she looks around the house for me."

"Oh, I see. You think she went looking and found not just you but me as well?" Jenny said, connecting the dots.

"Yep, I'd bet on it." He gave her a quick peck on the lips and headed towards the hallway. "Wish me luck." He threw over his shoulder as he turned out of the kitchen.

"I'm hoping you won't need it."

Gibbs smirked at her answer. The door to the basement was open so he went right on down and found his granddaughter sitting on the floor whittling at a block of scrap wood. She didn't acknowledge his entrance so he turned his attention to the halfway varnished change table and started where she had left off.

He was almost done when she finally spoke up, "I'm not mad."

"That's always a good thing." He commented dryly, dipping the brush in the varnish for the last couple of spots.

"I'm just confused." She sighed and looked up from the finished carving in her hand. "Why'd you hide it from us? I mean aside from being a little annoyed you kept it a secret, I'm happy for you, both of you."

Gibbs fastened the lid back on the metal can and set the brush on a rack on his work table to dry before sliding down on the floor beside her, hands resting on his knees, "Didn't mean to hide it. Wasn't sure if I'd be smart enough not to screw up again, so I didn't announce anything. If any of you had asked, me or Jen, we wouldn't have lied."

"Guess we've all been too preoccupied to notice anything." She said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Well, I don't know if it matters since it sounds like you two have been together for a while, but I'm cool with it. She's already overprotective enough to be my grandma anyways."

A rare full blown grin spread across his face and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head, "It matters, thanks Tal."

She nodded, then moving her head so she could look straight at him she fixed him with a glare, "Jake told me what you said to him last week at the Halloween party."

He raised an eyebrow at her innocently, "Really? What was that?"

The glare she was giving him was one that could rival his own, "I really like him, Gibbs. So I'd appreciate if from now on you didn't threaten to kill him."

He held back a laugh and nodded, "I'll do my best."

"Thank you." She leaned back against his shoulder and rubbed her fingers absentmindedly over the wood in her hands.

Gibbs glanced at it and eased it out of her hands. She didn't protest and watched him as he looked over her impromptu carving. In the foreground was a large bird, its wings spread-eagle, the detail on the feathers was extraordinary. He studied that for a long time before noticing that the left wing that was slightly curled appeared to be shielding a baby bird with its wing. Some would expect the smaller bird to be less detailed because of its size, but it seemed to be just as elaborate as the larger bird, if not more so.

"Where'd you learn to do that? It's beautiful." He commended handing it back to her.

She shrugged, "I didn't really learn. Mom says I've always had a knick-knack for drawing and stuff."

"Knack. You've got a knack for drawing." He corrected with a smile.

"Oh, well either way I don't really think about what I'm doing, my mind just pictures something and then my hands make it happen." She set the piece of wood on the floor beside her and turned back to him, a serious look on her face. "How long will that table take to dry?"

"Not long, why?"

"Mom and Dad are fighting about stupid stuff. I think they're both just overwhelmed with the fact that there's only a month left until she has the baby and we have hardly anything ready." Tali stood up and walked over to the other various pieces of furniture Gibbs had made to put in the nursery and pulled the sheet off that was covering them up. "So I think it is time to enact Operation Nursery."

Gibbs stood and walked over to stand beside her, "Operation Nursery?"

"Yeah, ya know, getting Mom out of the house so we can surprise her with all this stuff." She replied, looking over at his confused face.

"No, I got what it meant, I was just questioning your code name." He chuckled and she punched him lightly in the arm.

"I'd like to see you come up with something better." Tali pouted, leaning her back against the crib.

He turned and did the same, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "Nah, I'm not very creative, yours is fine."

"That's what I thought." She nodded her head firmly and smiled.

Gibbs took a step away from the crib and pulled out his phone, "You get your Dad over here. I'll call Tim and Abby."

"On it," She was going to say 'On it Gibbs' but changed her mind at the last second. "Boss."

Tali grinned widely at him and he barked out a laugh, "Be careful, I've got enough head slaps in me for more than one DiNozzo if you start acting like your Dad too."

"Eh, I'll take my chances."

_Thwap._

**A/N: I'm hoping you all know what I meant with that last word ;) So it seems I was in the mood to update on Saturday again, so I'm hoping this will hold you all over for a while because I can't 100% guarantee a chapter next Saturday. Band Camp starts Monday, bleh -_-, so I'll be pooped and I don't know if I'll have the energy to write out the next chapter. It saddens me just as much as it saddens you ;) Hope you enjoyed this chapter, review and let me know how I did with my first stab at a Jibbs relationship!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: So as predicted I didn't update last week because I was wiped out from band camp, but I hope you'll be able to forgive me :) Thanks for the continued voting and reviews, I really appreciate it! **

Chapter Thirteen

Tony's phone buzzed in his pocket, making him jump a little from his position outside the locked bathroom door. Ziva had retreated into their bathroom a few moments earlier, right in the middle of their fight, and with the door locked he'd had no choice but to wait outside.

He slid his phone out of his pocket and read the message from his daughter:

_Hey, if you guys are finished duking it out over there, I'm over at Gibbs' and we need you over here ASAP._

_Tell Mom you got a call from Gibbs and you had to go into work. Don't worry, I promise this is a good surprise._

_-T_

He eyed his daughter's words quizzically, half worried, half interested and slowly stood up. He tucked his phone back in his pocket and knocked on the bathroom door lightly.

"Got a call from Gibbs, I gotta go in." There was no response except for a shuffling of feet. "I'll call you when I get there okay?"

He got a muffled "Fine.", in response and hoped that his daughter knew what she was doing, because lying on top of leaving in the middle of a fight did not bode well for him.

Tony headed downstairs, slipping on his jacket and shoes before heading out the door. He glanced at his car in the driveway as he walked down the sidewalk and hesitated. It would seem extremely lazy of him to drive his car a few houses down the street, but it would be obvious that he'd lied to Ziva if he left it at the house. He grabbed his keys out of his back pocket and jogged around to the driver's side of the car. It took him less than thirty seconds to drive down to Gibbs' house and he was halfway to the front door when he saw McGee's car pull in behind his.

McGee got out of the car and Abby came around and took his place in the driver's seat, giving Tony a small wave, "Abs, what's going on?"

"You'll find out soon enough Tony!" She called back as McGee walked up the drive to meet him.

Tony heard the front door open behind him and watched as Tali ran by him in a blur, "Hey, where are you going?"

She smiled at him as she opened the back door of the McGee's SUV, "Gibbs will fill you in!"

Tony stood there perplexed as Abby drove down the street and ended up pulling into the spot in his driveway that he had just left moments ago.

He glanced sideways at McGee who looked just as confused, "What are we doing here McGee?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Abby got a call from Gibbs and when she hung up she told me and Izzy to get in the car, then we ended up here." He answered, glancing over his shoulder to see Gibbs standing near the open front door.

"You know, one of these days, when Gibbs expects us to show up somewhere without any notice or explanation, I'm just not gonna go. I mean-"

"Ah, Tony you might wanna…" Tim warned, looking back to see his boss silently approach Tony from behind.

"Shh, McGee, I'm having a revelation." He paused, tapping his index finger on his mouth, "I mean, Gibbs is intimidating, I'll give him that. But he's more of a 'The Wizard of Oz', type of intimidating. He looks pretty scary at first, but then Toto pulls back the emerald green curtain and you realize he's just an old softy magician trying to impress everyone."

"Sure about that DiNozzo?"

Tony almost jumped out of his skin at the unexpected voice at his ear, "Oh…hey Boss…what's up?"

Gibbs gave him a swift slap to the back of his head before walking back inside, calling over his shoulder, "C'mon we've got work to do."

McGee smirked at Tony as they followed him inside, "Tried to warn you."

"Shut up McSmiley." Tony groused rubbing the stinging spot on the back of his head.

When they got to the basement Gibbs was pulling pieces of furniture out from a corner of the basement and when Tony recognized what a few of them were, he was absolutely speechless. McGee started helping and as everything was pulled into the middle of the room, Tony could only stare.

"Gonna help anytime soon DiNozzo?" Gibbs grunted as he and McGee prepared to lift up the crib to carry upstairs.

"Wait a sec, Boss, you made all this? For us, for the baby?" Tony questioned still amazed.

Gibbs motioned for McGee to set the crib back down and looked over at Tony, less than amused, "Well, yeah DiNozzo, you know anyone else that's got a kid on the way?"

"No I was just surprised, that's all." He replied, hesitating a little before continuing, "Thanks, Gibbs, this means a lot."

"No big deal, had the time and supplies." The older man shrugged off the thanks, but Tony knew he still appreciated it. "Now are you gonna help or just stand there?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind explaining exactly what's going on." He countered, even though he knew it might earn him another head slap.

Gibbs sighed, "Tali, Izzy, and Abby are going to keep Ziva occupied with shopping for baby clothes and stuff. You, McGee, and I are going to move all this furniture into the nursery while they're gone. Tali told Jen how you and Ziva were thinking about decorating the nursery so she's going to take care of the bedding and everything else."

Tony and McGee glanced at each other when he addressed the Director as 'Jen', but didn't do much more than that, saving that topic for another day.

"Okay, got it, but-" Gibbs glared at him, "Sorry, shutting up Boss."

Tony didn't ask any more questions as they began bringing the furniture upstairs and loading it into Gibbs' truck. It took a few trips to get everything to the house and then into the nursery, but they managed to stay on task and had just finished putting all the furniture in the right spots when Jenny arrived with the finishing touches for the room. Tony kept an eye on her and Gibbs while they were all busy with different tasks and he was able to pick up a few hints of something more than a professional relationship here and there, but didn't say anything about it, tucking everything back in his mind to discuss with his wife later.

They finished just a few minutes before Tony got a text from Tali saying that they were on the way back to the house.

"Looks like that's our cue to head out then." Jenny said, linking her fingers with Gibbs'.

"What? You guys aren't staying?" Tony questioned perplexed, as McGee started towards the door. "I thought we were all going to surprise her."

"Tali said you guys were fighting this morning, she figured this would help and we thought you needed some alone time." Gibbs answered following McGee out the door.

He stood by himself in the finished nursery for a few minutes, still trying to comprehend this huge gift that the team, their family, had given him and Ziva. When he went back downstairs he looked out the living room window just in time to see McGee pulling his car back into the driveway.

Tony met him on the porch and Tim handed his keys back, "You left both of these at Gibbs', figured it would ruin the surprise if you were here, but your car wasn't."

"Thanks," Tony tucked them in his pocket, letting out a chuckle, "I drove it over there for the same reason, Zi's pretty observant, makes pulling off stuff like this pretty hard."

"You're welcome Tony." McGee started to back off the porch, "Abby's picking me up at Gibbs', so I'll see ya later."

"Bye, McGee." Tony waved before heading back inside.

He went back into the living room and busied himself with finding something to watch on TV while he waited for his family to return. A few minutes into a Bond marathon that was playing on AMC he heard a car pull up in the driveway. Tony stood and went to the front door, pulling it open just as Ziva came to stand in front of it.

"Hey." He ignored her confused expression and gave her a kiss, taking the shopping bags from her hands before leading her inside.

"What are you doing here? I thought Gibbs needed you?" She asked, shutting the door behind him.

"False alarm." He fibbed, "Tali texted and said you guys went shopping, how did that go?"

Ziva grimaced as she slipped her jacket and shoes off, "They made me sit in a wheelchair."

"Who made you sit in a wheelchair?" Tony questioned, slightly puzzled.

"Abby, Tali, and Izzy." She grumbled motioning for him to follow her upstairs while she continued talking, "The doctor said it was okay for me to walk around for small periods of time, and I told them exactly that, but I had not taken but one step inside the mall before they insisted that I sit in a wheelchair."

He tried to hold back a laugh, but was unsuccessful and received a punch in the arm for it when they stopped outside the nursery, "Sorry Zi, you've got to find it a little amusing though, right?"

She shrugged, but was unable to hide her smile when she looked back up at him, "It was kind of fun to see Tali so overprotective of me."

"Where is she anyway?" He asked, finally noticing her absence. He'd expected at least for her to be a part of the big reveal.

"Izzy invited her to spend the night." She explained, but her gaze suddenly turned apologetic when her brown eyes flicked up to meet his, "I am sorry for this morning, I-"

"Don't apologize." He interrupted, cupping her cheek with his palm, "We were both overwhelmed by the fact that we've only got two months left before we have a newborn on our hands and we have absolutely nothing ready for him. We took our worries and frustrations out on each other when we should have just sat down and talked everything out."

She leaned up, pulling him into a kiss that said everything she didn't know how to express in words. When she pulled away she raised an eyebrow at him, "Him?"

He looked at her confused, and she moved his hand from her face to the spot where the baby was currently kicking and he grinned understanding her question, "What, can't I hope for a boy to carry on the DiNozzo family name?"

Ziva laughed, grinning wryly at him, "You can hope, but I do not think you will be correct."

"Ah, so you think its girl then?" He guessed, tracing circles over the spot where the baby in question was moving.

"I know she is." She replied with a smirk, kissing his cheek before turning towards the door to the nursery.

Tony smiled, excitement bubbling up inside him as she grabbed the door handle, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see which one of us is right."

"You can wait, I however already know that…" She stopped midsentence as she opened the door to reveal a fully furnished and decorated nursery that only hours ago had been empty.

"Surprise." He whispered, stepping around her to set the bags of baby things on the dresser that stood against the left wall.

Ziva was speechless as she walked slowly around the room, her hands running over the handcrafted furniture that she knew could only have been made by one man. The bedding in the crib that was positioned against the far wall, just under the window, and the cushions on the rocking chair and change table in the right corner of the room had the _Winnie the Pooh_ pattern she'd found online a few days ago. She had shown the pattern to Tony who had liked it as well, especially for the fact that it was linked to a movie, but she had thought nothing of it since then.

She also noticed that the furniture was made of the same wood as the carving Gibbs had given her the day she confessed she was pregnant. Looking around the room she found the block of wood sitting on a shelf that had been put on the wall above the change table. Taking a step towards it she found another wood carving positioned to the right of Gibbs' and instantly recognized her daughter's handiwork in the detailed carving of the two birds. Ziva tried to hold back the tears of gratitude that were threatening to spill down her face as she moved on to study the crib.

She brushed her fingers lightly over the Disney characters that hung on a mobile over the bed smiling at the tinkling sound that came from her movement. She peered into the crib, smiling as she imagined their child sleeping peacefully among the stuffed animals tucked into each of the corners of the bed. Tony came to stand beside her then, resting an arm around her shoulders. Ziva looked up at him lovingly and was trying to think of the right words to express her thanks when something hanging off the end of the crib caught her eye.

She had to step out of Tony's reach to grab the item that turned out to be a blanket, but quickly came back to stand beside him. Ziva ran her hands over the hand-knit cream colored blanket curiously and when she unfolded it a piece of paper that had been tucked inside of it fell slowly to the ground. Tony picked it up off the floor and finding that the folded piece of paper was addressed to his wife, he quickly handed it over to her.

Ziva looked at him, clearly confused and he just shrugged, "Go ahead and read it Zi, I don't know anything about that blanket or where it came from."

She turned her gaze back to the paper in her hands, cautiously unfolded it and began reading.

_Ziva-_

_ I'm not usually good at explaining this kinda stuff out loud, so I figured a letter was my best bet._

_ This blanket was passed down through Shannon's family from mother to daughter for as long as she could remember. She was never sure who made it, when it was made, or how it even stayed in such good condition all these years, but when Kelly was born it became hers. She should've gotten the chance to pass it on to her own daughter, but you and I both know that chance was taken away from her. I think that both my girls would rather see this blanket continue its journey through our family then sit in the attic any longer than it already has. _

_Wish I could've given it to you when Tali was born, but I'm just as glad to be able to give it to you now. If the kid ends up being a boy he can still use it and then maybe you can give it to Tal when she's old enough to start a family. I really don't care how it travels through the family, just as long as it does get passed down, because that's what Shannon and Kelly would've wanted._

_Love, Abba_

There had been a lump in Ziva's throat the whole time she'd been reading the letter, but when her eyes rested on the way he had signed the letter tears spilled down her face.

"Zi, what's wrong?" Tony asked, worried.

She shook her head, turning to him with a smile on her face, "Nothing is wrong, it is the exact opposite Tony, everything is right."

He still looked confused, so she handed him the letter to read. Ziva wiped away her tears and wrapped an arm around his back, resting her head on his shoulder while his eyes went back and forth over the letter.

When he was done he handed it back to her, "Whoa."

She laughed lightly at his reaction, "That is not exactly how I would describe my feelings, but you are close enough."

"What does 'Abba' mean?" He questioned, running a hand over the blanket she was still holding.

"It is Hebrew for 'Dad' or 'Father'." She answered with a smile, carefully laying the blanket down in the crib.

"I'm glad he stepped in to fill that place in your life." Tony pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

Ziva looked up at him, resting a hand on his cheek she whispered, "He filled the same place for you too, Tony."

They both knew without him having to say anything that Tony's father had long since lost that place in his life and that Gibbs had taken it up. "I love you Ziva."

She kissed him lightly and pulled back with a beautiful smile on her face, "I love you too Tony."

**A/N: Operation Nursery is complete, how do you all think it went? Let me know by reviewing!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Wow, I can't say I was prepared for all of you to be in tears or nearly there because of Gibbs' letter last chapter. I can't say I'm happy you guys almost or did cry, but I'm glad you were able to appreciate (not sure if that's the right word) the last chapter. Thanks for all the reviews and continuing to keep up with this story!**

Chapter Fourteen

Later that night found Tony and Ziva back in the nursery folding and putting away the baby clothes Ziva had purchased earlier that day. She had already put away the toys, pacifiers, and other necessities by the time he came up from doing the dishes and when she invited him to help her put away the clothes he was more than happy to oblige.

"I assume that after you left they had to restock the whole baby section." Tony commented, starting in on the third shopping bag full of clothes.

Ziva laughed lightly, rocking back in forth in the rocking chair she'd pulled over to the dresser earlier, "It might be hard to believe, but I had to force Abby to put half of what was in the cart back."

"She does know this is not her kid right?" He joked, folding a yellow onesie on his knee.

"Yes, but this is Abby we are talking about, she gets excited about everything." She smiled picking up a tiny black t-shirt from the shopping bag by her feet.

"What is it?" he craned his neck, trying to see what was on the front of the shirt.

Ziva turned it around, "I told her to go gender neutral, but she must have snuck this one past me."

He smiled as he looked at the sparkly pink skull and cross bones that adorned the front of the shirt. "I think it's cute, too bad we're having a boy though."

She wrinkled her nose at him, "Why do you keep insisting that the baby is a boy?"

"Why do you insist that it's a girl?" He countered, leaning his head against the dresser.

Ziva looked away from him, folded the black shirt carefully and placed it in the top drawer with the others, "No reason."

He watched as she picked up another piece of clothing and continued to avoid eye contact, a telltale sign that something was up. "Can't fool me that easily Zi."

She sighed and when she turned her gaze to him, her eyes were filled with tears. "Sometimes I wish you could not see through my lies."

"Oh, Ziva, don't cry I didn't mean to…" She shook her head at him, making him stop.

"I am not that upset, it is the hormones." He opened his arms to her anyway, offering her his lap.

She carefully left the rocking chair and came to sit between his legs so that she leaned against his chest. They sat in silence while Ziva did her best to will away the tears and Tony tried to come up with reasons why she wouldn't want a boy.

"Is it because of Ari?" She turned her head to face him, looking extremely confused so he elaborated, "Why you don't want a boy, is it because of your brother?"

Ziva started to shake her head, but stopped, wanting to be honest with him, "Yes, in a way it is because of my brother."

"Why?" He asked, prompting her to continue.

"When we were kids he was the best big brother anyone could have asked for. He looked out for Tali and I, made sure we knew how to defend ourselves should we ever get picked on at school, he was our protector." She paused, and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "He and my father never got along very well, and their relationship was over as soon as Ari's mother was killed. He blamed it on my father and looking back now I think I agree with Ari's suspicions. But, when his mother died, it was like someone replaced the brother I loved with someone completely unrecognizable. He wouldn't talk to me anymore; he would leave the country without warning for months at a time; Ari just wasn't Ari anymore."

Ziva didn't speak for a long time after that and when Tony thought he'd given her enough time to her thoughts he spoke up again, "So you are afraid that if we have a boy, he will be like Ari?"

She shook her head. "I tell myself that if our baby is a boy he will only have the best of you and I, that he will love movies and baseball, have a good heart and mind. He will have bright green eyes and sandy brown hair and will look at his sister as a role model and love her as much as I loved my sister." She traced random patterns and shapes on the back of his hand, trying to find the courage to tell him her fears. "But then this little voice in my head tells me that if our daughter looks and acts so much like my sister without having even met her, that it is inevitable that our son would be like my brother or even my father and I do not wish that upon any child."

Tony's heart broke at her admission and when he kissed her head he wasn't surprised when a few tears fell onto her dark brown curls. "Oh, Zi."

Not expecting the tremble in his voice or the moisture on her hair she looked back at him, "Tony, you are crying, what is wrong?"

"Nothing." He let her wipe away the moisture on his cheeks and smiled despite himself, "I just can't see how you think our son would ever be like that, when he has a mother like you."

"What do you mean?" She asked, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

"People don't turn out the way they do without help. Obviously Eli didn't have a great relationship with his father to turn into the man you knew and the strain between he and Ari was what caused your brother to become someone you no longer knew." He chuckled and shook his head, "It's a wonder I didn't turn out worse seeing as my father was…well my father."

"Your mother was a good woman though." It was more of a question than a statement.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't have a lot of memories of her, but the ones that left an impression are mostly good." He answered, then did his best to get the conversation back on topic. "What I'm trying to say is that Tali is who she is because you didn't turn into your father and I didn't turn into mine. I can promise you with a hundred percent certainty that if we have a son he will be exactly as you said earlier, because he will have a wonderful, loving, and caring mother."

She leaned against his chest stroking her bump, "And a protective and devoted father."

Tony smiled widely, kissing her forehead, "I'll take him to movies, baseball games, even teach him how to-"

Ziva punched him lightly in the gut, "If you say pick up chicks I will hurt you."

"I was going to say ride a bike. Geez Zi, give me a little credit." He said, pretending to be hurt.

"Sure you were." She kissed him, before letting out a yawn.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and slid the other under her legs, "Looks like its bedtime."

Tony picked her up when she didn't protest and carried her down the hall to their bedroom. They both changed into pajamas, which for Ziva now consisted of one of Tony's oversized OSU sweatshirts and a pair of maternity yoga pants, and got into bed.

Tony slid in behind her, getting close enough so that they were sharing the same pillow, "I love you Zi."

"I love you too Tony." She replied, stroking the arm that was wrapped lightly around her stomach.

That night, when she fell asleep instead of dreaming about a baby boy that would turn into Ari, Ziva dreamt of a little boy with green eyes and spiky brown hair playing baseball with his father and older sister.

**A/N: This was kind of a short chapter, but I liked this by itself instead of trying to stuff it into another chapter. Now, just because this was centered around them having a boy does not mean that they will. The poll up on my profile is at a 50/50 split right now and will be taken down in approximately two chapters so you guys still have some time to vote. Reviews are greatly appreciated, thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post this Saturday, but we were having a surprise birthday party for my grandma and I was busy with preparations the whole day. **

**As I said in the previous chapter, the poll will be taken down soon, and soon will be after the posting of the chapter following this one. I'll try and post the next chapter earlier in the day and give you guys till about midnight (eastern standard time) for any last minute voting. Right now the poll is once again at a 50/50 draw and I apologize to those of you that were hoping for a hidden twin, but that is not in the cards for this story, so you guys need to pick one or the other ;) **

**Alright, that's all I've got to say, hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

Chapter Fifteen

"Ahava, could you grab the flour canister from the cabinet by the fridge? It should be on the top shelf."

Tali nodded and leaned up on her tiptoes to grab the container full of flour. Thanksgiving was the next day and since school had already let them out for the holiday, she had been employed by her mom to help check the cupboards for ingredients they would need for the dishes they were making for the meal. The team had the holiday off this year as long as they didn't catch a case and everyone had volunteered to make a few different side dishes to go along with the turkey that would be cooked at the DiNozzo house the day of the event. Tali, like her mother, still didn't completely understand the holiday especially since most of the countries she had spent her childhood in did not celebrate it, but after last year's Thanksgiving she actually found herself looking forward to the day.

They'd moved to D.C. and had been settled into their new house and Tali her new school, for about two months. Tali welcomed the three day break from school in the middle of November, and since she wasn't exactly sure what the holiday consisted of she was more than surprised to be awoken by her dad at 9 AM on Thanksgiving morning. Tony had been well aware that his daughter had never experienced a traditional Thanksgiving and even though she was now a teenager, he was going to make sure that her first real Thanksgiving was spectacular, which included getting up early to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Tali was skeptical at first, not really wanting to sit in her pajamas watching a bunch of big balloons march by on the TV screen, but after a while she found herself actually enjoying it and the day just got better from there. Plus it had been the first holiday she'd spent with her dad and it now had a special place in her heart.

"Tali? Hello?" Ziva called snapping her daughter out of her reverie.

Tali shook her head, "Sorry Mom, got distracted, what'd you need?"

"I was just saying that you could put everything away." She answered looking back down at her list. "I think I've got down everything we need, remind me again how many people are coming?"

"Well there's the three of us, plus the McFamily so that's six," Tali looked over her shoulder as she put the sugar away, "do you think Gibbs will bring Jenny?"

Ziva nodded, "I assume so, now that they are an object."

"Item, Mom, not object." She corrected with a laugh striding back over to the table. "So then that's eight, then there's Ducky, the Gremlin and Breena, making eleven."

"You really need to spend less time around your father." Ziva shook her head, trying to hide her grin. "Alright so we should make enough pie for about a dozen then?"

"Yeah that sounds…" She trailed off remembering something Jake had told her the day before. "Actually, do you think we could make enough for three more people?"

"Three more, did we forget someone?" Ziva asked, running through the list of names in her head.

"No." Tali sighed, setting down across from her mother. "I was hoping we could add someone, a couple someones actually."

"Okay…who are these someones?" Ziva questioned still confused.

"Jake and his little brothers." She sighed again, knowing he wouldn't have wanted her to ask. "His parents both have to work and when I asked him what they were going to do, he said they'd probably just order pizza and watch the football game. He said it would probably be the best Thanksgiving yet because he wouldn't have to deal with getting dressed up and talking to relatives, but I know he was just lying to himself. I was going to invite him to our house, but I thought I should ask you first."

Ziva smiled at her daughter's clear concern for her boyfriend and his family, "Of course they can come over, three more will not make a big difference."

Tali's eyes lit up and she stood, walking over to give her mom a hug, "Thanks Ima."

"You are very welcome ahava." Ziva kissed her cheek, "Make sure he knows that none of us will be dressed up either, especially if your father organizes that football game in the backyard again."

"Well of course there'll be a football game, its Thanksgiving tradition." Tony said, choosing that moment to walk into the kitchen. "Who are we talking about?"

"Jake and his younger brothers are coming over tomorrow," Ziva answered glancing at Tali, "I said that she should tell them not to dress up because you were probably going to get a game started again."

"Yeah, wouldn't want them to ruin their clothes." He agreed, saving the question on his tongue for later.

"I'm gonna go call Jake and let him know about tomorrow." Tali stood and walked out of the room, but came back just a few seconds later. "Is it okay if they come over a little early to watch the parade? I told Jake's youngest brother, the one who I told you has autism, that I would watch it with him and I don't want to disappoint him."

Ziva smiled at her daughter's gesture, "Of course, that is perfectly fine."

"Okay, thanks." Tali headed up the stairs leaving Tony and Ziva by alone in the kitchen.

Tony rested his hands on the chair his daughter had just vacated, "How come I didn't know Jake's little brother had autism?"

"She does not bring him up in conversation often." Ziva answered vaguely, getting up slowly so she could maneuver around her ever growing baby bump.

"Yeah but you obviously knew." He retorted, following her across the hall to the living room.

She sighed, lowering herself onto the couch, "Yes, I did. Why will you not just spit it out already?"

He sat down beside her, resting his arm on the top of the couch, "She doesn't talk about Jake around me."

"There it is." She patted his hand and looked up into eyes that were betraying the hurt he was trying to hide. "Do you know why she does not like to talk about him when you are around?"

"No. Yes. Ugh-I don't know." He sighed, running a hand through his hair out of habit.

"Tali does not enjoy sharing things about Jake with you because on some level I think she knows what I know." Ziva paused rubbing her thumb across his hand, trying to word her next statement correctly. "You pretend to like him instead of trying to get to know him. I understand that it is hard because you didn't know her as a little girl and you are trying to protect an innocence that you never got to see, but that is not what she wants. She wants your approval and knows that even though you technically have already given it, you do not feel the same way on the inside."

Tony sighed heavily, meeting her brown eyes with his green, "How are you so good at getting inside everybody's heads?"

"It takes practice, but that is not the point." She responded looking at him pointedly. "Tony, you need to give this boy a chance. He means enough to her that she knew he was lying when he told her he would enjoy ordering pizza and watching the football game with just his brothers. Even though you weren't there for her childhood, she will always be your little girl and right now-"

"-my little girl needs me to accept him." He finished her sentence with a wry grin.

She huffed annoyed, "Why do you let me babble on like that when you have already figured everything out?"

"Cause it's fun to watch." He winked, and then kissed her cheek, taking the shopping list out of her hand as he did so. "Want me to go run to the store?"

"That would be very helpful, yes." She nodded as he stood. "Take Tali with you, she can drive and you can talk."

Tony groaned, "C'mon Zi, can't we just postpone this whole driving thing?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "I thought her driving had improved?"

"Yeah, but it's the day before Thanksgiving and the roads will be really busy…" He trailed off, knowing the look he was now receiving from his wife was not one to argue with. "Fine, but you owe me."

Ziva laughed, "You mean after I have this baby you want _me_ to take her driving? I thought you did not want her to pick up my bad habits?"

"A couple here and there aren't that bad." He muttered cupping a hand around his mouth. "Tali! C'mon, you're driving me to the grocery store!"

Tony walked back to the couch and leaned down to give her a kiss, "Wish me luck."

"With the driving or the talking?" She smirked.

"Both." He mouthed as Tali came into the room, in the process of putting on her coat. "Ready to go?"

"Yep." She answered a hint of excitement audible in her voice.

Ziva rolled her eyes at Tony's back as they left, knowing that he was only dramatizing their daughter's driving abilities. They were back from the store only half an hour later without incident and Tali and Ziva went to work, getting most all of the pies done for the next day that night. They were planning on making the rest after lunch the next day, but Ziva wasn't surprised to find her daughter already at work when she woke up at eight due to the baby's persistent kicking.

"I needed to do something with my hands." Tali answered when Ziva questioned her about it.

She smiled as she watched her roll and re-roll the pie crust until it was perfect, "I used to be the same way when I was nervous, only I would throw knives."

Tali sighed looking up at her mother, "Is it really that obvious?"

"Yes, but you do not have to worry ahuvi." Ziva kissed the top of her head. "I spoke to your father, everything should be alright. But," she added thoughtfully gesturing to the pie crust, "if this helps than go ahead, I will be here if you need my help."

"Todah, Ima." She thanked her with a small smile.

Tali had finished making the last two pies, with a little of Ziva's help, by the time Jake and his brothers showed up for the parade. Ziva listened to her daughter greet them from the kitchen as she cleaned up the counter, while Tony washed the dirty dishes at the sink, most likely doing the same thing.

"Hey. Happy Thanksgiving." There was a pause, probably for a hug or kiss.

"I like the flour, it matches…okay it matches nothing but it's cute." Jake joked, a deep chuckle carried through the hall.

"Tali!" A young voice interrupted.

"Hey Jay! I love your pj's, Superman's my favorite." She greeted, her words bringing a smile to Ziva's lips.

"Me too!" He replied excitedly.

"Well, if you go straight down the hall and go into the first room on your left the TV is on and I think the parade should be starting soon."

There was no response, just a pattering of feet and flash of nine year old clad in blue pajamas running into the living room.

"Sorry about the pj's, I couldn't get him to change. I've got clothes for whenever I can convince him to." Jake said apologetically.

"He's fine, don't worry about it. Where's Jason?" she asked.

"He's-"

"I'm right here." Answered a voice that was clearly in the middle of transitioning from high pitched to a much deeper octave. "Hi Tali."

"Hey. Nice book, is it for school?" She asked politely.

"Nope."

"Oh, okay…um the living room is-"

"I know, I saw Jay."

Ziva watched as the boy turned into the living room, his nose deep in a book.

"Sorry, whenever he's almost finished with a book he kind of shuts everyone out, but he only had a couple pages left when we pulled up so he should be back to normal in a few minutes." Jake said, as Ziva heard the two start to walk down the hall.

"Quit apologizing, they're fine." Tali chastised him just before they came to stand inside the kitchen doorway.

"Hello Jake." Ziva greeted, smiling brightly at him. "I am glad you could come."

"Thank you for inviting us, I'd introduce you to my brothers but they kind of disappeared into your living room." He replied, looking over his shoulder.

"It is okay, we heard." She said as Tony came over after finishing with the dishes.

"Jake." He greeted, holding out his hand.

The younger man took it, "Sir."

Tony smiled, "Last time I told you Mr. DiNozzo was a mouthful so now you've reverted back to sir?"

Jake shrugged and said with a laugh, "Guess it's just a habit, Dad being a Marine and all."

"Tali said he worked at the Pentagon, but I didn't know he was a Marine." He said as the two started to walk into the living room continuing the conversation as they did.

"Mom, that's the most Dad's ever said to him, exactly what did you say to him?" Tali whispered as they followed them across the hall.

Ziva laughed quietly, "I just told him what he needed to hear."

The rest of the day went by smoothly with the rest of the family arriving around lunch time. There was no actual meal served, mostly just a smattering of snacks since everyone knew they would be stuffed to the gills later that evening. Around two Tony organized the football game in the backyard, they had six on seven, with Ducky and Ziva sitting out as referees, so on one team there was always someone on the sidelines waiting to rotate in. At one point it was Tali's turn to sit out so she joined her mother on the steps.

"Thanks for talking to Dad." She said as she tried to catch her breath. "Everything seems…complete."

"You are welcome tateleh." Ziva smiled patting her on the shoulder.

They sat in silence for a while, watching as Gibbs picked up Jay who had the ball and ran him down the 'field' for a touchdown.

"Hey that's illegal! Ref, c'mon here!" Tony yelled looking over at Ziva.

"Be careful DiNozzo or I'll call a Technical Foul!" She shouted back, causing the whole group to laugh. "I did not see anything wrong with that last play."

Jay and Gibbs high-fived while Tony went back to his position sulking.

"How come you don't understand basic sayings, but you can call football like nobody's business?" Tali laughed, glancing sideways at her mom.

Ziva shrugged, "Rules are easy to learn, weird idioms, not so much."

Tali shook her head, going back to watching the game that her team was currently winning, "Hey Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"I never told you, but when Jake took me to that Halloween party, I told him everything." She'd been holding in the information for some time, as there had yet to be a right place or time to share it.

"Everything?" Ziva asked, looking into her daughter's eyes.

She nodded, "And you know what he said?"

Ziva shook her head, confused as to where this conversation was going.

"He told me he loved me." Tali admitted looking over at the boy in question.

"He did?" The words surprisingly hit Ziva like a ton of bricks. "What did you say back?"

She laughed, "That's just it, he wouldn't let me say anything. He told me that he was sure about his feelings, but that if I wasn't he didn't want me to say it back." She paused looking back at her mom, "I wasn't sure, not then, but I think I am now."

Ziva tried to work past the lump that was developing in her throat, "That is why you are telling me all of this now?"

"Yeah, are you okay with this?" Tali asked nervously.

Ziva smiled, "Of course I am, if that is what you feel than I am not going to stop you from telling him."

"Tali, tag me out, I'm exhausted!" Called Palmer, who did look a little worse for wear.

"Coming!" She yelled back, then to her mom she whispered, "Thank you."

Ziva only nodded as she watched her daughter hurry out to rescue the ME. She couldn't believe how grown up her daughter was, remembering the days when she was able to hold Tali in the crook of one arm never dreaming that the baby she held would ever ask her if it was okay if she could tell a boy she loved him.

She shook her head and rubbed the spot on her stomach that the baby was currently kicking. "Abba is right hakatan sheli, you are not allowed to grow up too fast. Your sister is already too grown up for her own good."

**A/N: What'd you think? Reviews are lovely!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I was planning on uploading this Saturday, but a trip to the Library turned into an afternoon out and then my sisters and I had a bonfire for our last summer hurrah before school starts on Monday, so I ran out of time :) Alright, so I'll explain the timeline for the closing of the poll at the end of the chapter and then after this there will be a wrap up chapter and possibly an epilogue, so I hope you enjoy this next chapter, thanks!**

Chapter Sixteen

"I have a confession to make."

It was almost midnight on Christmas Eve and after they had finished placing gifts under the tree they had gone to bed, or at least they had tried. Tony had been talking off and on for the past half hour while Ziva did her best to get comfortable at almost eight months pregnant.

Ziva sighed heavily, "What is it now Tony?"

"I got Tali a car." He said, bracing himself for her reaction.

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, I know. Gibbs already told me."

"He did what?" He angrily whispered.

Ziva rolled over so she was facing him, smiling guiltily at him, "He moused you out because he didn't want me to ruin the surprise by being angry with you."

"Ratted, he ratted me out." Tony pouted, "So you know he's bringing it over tomorrow before we go over to McChef's for dinner?"

She smiled, "Yes, it was very nice of him to hide it for you. Now why are you so upset about me knowing? Is it not better that I know and do not get mad at you tomorrow?"

"I guess you're right." He huffed tracing patterns lightly across her stomach, getting a few kicks in response. "How's it going in there bud?"

Ziva frowned, "He has not stopped moving around all night."

"Don't keep her up munchkin, she needs all the sleep she can get before you come next week." Tony said, then looking back up at her he asked, "Are you nervous?"

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, thinking, "I am not nervous for the birth because it has been planned out since early on." She said referring to the plans they had made after she had almost lost the baby. "What I _am_ nervous about is rather silly."

He looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"Remember when I promised that I wouldn't let you miss anything with this baby?" She asked, and he nodded his head, "I am afraid that once he comes, I will not remember to let you or ask you for help."

Tony shook his head, planting a kiss on her forehead, "I know it's going to be different this time for you, maybe even a little hard, but I promise I'll be here to help with whatever you need whenever you need it. If you forget to ask for my help I won't be hurt, I'll just try and be there for you before you even know you need me."

She smiled at him, "Thank you, ahuvi. Can we sleep now that you have told me your secret? Tomorrow is a big day."

"Yeah." He kissed her again before she rolled over onto her other side and he molded his body to hers. "Love you."

"I love you too." She whispered before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Since Tali was older and appreciated sleep as much as her parents they didn't get up to open presents until ten the next morning. Gibbs had told Ziva about the surprise early enough so that she knew not to spend too much on presents, but she did end up getting her daughter a few pairs of jeans and tops she'd been ogling over for a while. Tony did his best to be subtle when he gave Tali an explanation for his gift; a key chain and car charger for her phone.

"You didn't have anything to put your house key on and I thought the charger would be nice for when we go on vacation this summer." He said referring to the trip to the beach they were planning.

"Oh, okay." Tali replied confusion and disappointment visible in her eyes.

"Tony, do you think you could go start breakfast so Tali can have something before she goes out?" Ziva asked, trying to change the subject.

Tony nodded getting up, "Sure thing."

Ziva watched as Tali focused her attention on folding her new clothes, "Your father is not the best when it comes to presents." She whispered after he had left the room.

Tali scoffed at her from her spot on the recliner, "Yours is pretty nice."

She looked down at the gold chain around her neck, the small diamonds and sapphires on the Star of David sparkled in the sun that streamed through the front windows. "This is an exception; would you like to know what he got me for my birthday one year?"

"Sure." She shrugged tucking her pajama clad legs underneath her.

"We had not been partners very long, maybe a year and when he found out it was my birthday and for some reason he felt obligated to get me something." Ziva laughed at the memory. "So during our lunch break he went and got me bag of M&M's and pack of bubblegum out of the vending machine in the break room."

"Wow, that is pretty lame." Tali laughed.

Ziva stood and kissed her on the forehead, "He may not be the best gift giver but his intentions are good."

Tali smiled and as Ziva walked out of the room to go help her husband with breakfast she couldn't believe how easily she had come up with an excuse for Tony's gifts. She hadn't lied, (well really she had just tiptoed around the truth) in years, maybe she still had a few Mossad tricks up her sleeve.

She was smiling herself when she walked into the kitchen and when Tony saw her out of the corner of his eye he looked at her quizzically. Ziva had heard Tali follow her into the kitchen so she just smiled and shot him a look that said she would explain later.

"What are we making?" She asked scanning her eyes over the ingredients that were scattered across the counter.

"Stuffed French toast. Wanna chop up some strawberries and bananas?" He replied nodding towards the fruit.

"I would love to."

The two got to work while Tali sat at the table in the kitchen talking on and off about her plans for the winter break from school. Today she was going ice skating with Jake, Izzy and a boy that had been showing an interest in the McGee's daughter as of late.

"I'll bet you twenty bucks you fall down at least once." Tony said as they ate breakfast, pointing his fork at her.

Tali glared at him; they had been arguing over this for a while, "Fine, if it will make you stop talking then deal. If I fall I owe you twenty bucks, if not you owe me twenty bucks. Izzy will be the witness."

He smiled smugly at her over his plate of French toast, "You got it DiNozzo."

"I wish you two would act your age not your pant size." Ziva sighed rolling her eyes at them.

"Shoe size Zi, not pant size, you were close though." Tony corrected, while Tali quietly chuckled across the table. "I am surprised her idiom confusion hasn't rubbed off on you more."

"She had some trouble at first." Ziva said before Tali could answer, taking her plate over to the sink. "But it appears that she has gotten a hang of the American sayings better than I did."

"Yeah, I don't think it's a genetic thing, I just think it's a you thing Mom." She said, grinning widely at her as she brought her own plate over to the sink.

"You know, I can always take away your temps." Ziva whispered slyly as she scrubbed away the sticky syrup on her plate.

Tali knew she was _mostly_ joking, "Sorry Ima, I was just kidding."

"Mhmm." She smiled as the doorbell unexpectedly rang.

"They're kind of early." Tony commented joining his girls at the kitchen sink.

Tali rolled her eyes and shrugged as she headed out into the hall, "They probably thought coming an hour early would be funny."

She walked up to the door, doing her best to look considerably angry hoping they would think she was actually mad, even though she didn't really care. She grabbed the door knob, swung the door open, and the stern look was wiped off her face when she laid her eyes on the stranger standing on her porch. He was old, mid-sixties at least and for some reason he reminded Tali of her father.

"Um, hi. Can I help you?" She asked unsure of what to say.

The man grinned at her, looking so much like her father it was creepy, "Yes, I'm looking for my son, Tony DiNozzo. I'm to understand he's living here now?"

The last sentence was more of a question so she nodded her head, "Yeah, just hold on a minute."

She stepped out of the doorway and called down the hall to her parents, "Dad, there's a man here to see you, he says he's _your_ dad."

When the words reached his ears Tony dropped his plate in the sink and walked quickly down the hall to meet his daughter at the door, Ziva following close behind albeit a little more slowly. When Tali moved out of the way Tony did his best to keep his mouth closed, because sure enough Anthony DiNozzo Senior was standing on his doorstep.

"Dad." His greeting was rather lame, but it was the only word he could muster up, he hadn't seen his father in years.

"Merry Christmas Junior." He replied glancing around Tony's shoulder, "Mind letting me in, it's pretty chilly out here."

"Yeah sure, come in." He opened the door wide enough for his father to enter and pointed him down the hall to the living room. "Coffee Dad?"

"Half and half if you have it Junior." The older man took a spot on the couch and smiled at Ziva. "I see he finally came to his senses and put a ring on your finger. How have you been Ziva?"

"Fine I guess. It has been far too long Mr. DiNozzo." She glanced at Tony across the hall in the kitchen who she could see was doing his best not to slam the cupboard doors. Ziva placed a hand on Tali's shoulder, "This is our daughter Tali."

She smiled awkwardly at him, knowing that he and her father had been estranged for some time, "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Tali." He gestured to the seats around the room, "Please sit, I hate to be the only comfortable one in the room."

Ziva sat in the recliner, but Tali didn't move to sit, "Um, I actually am going out with my friends in a little bit so…"

"Of course." He nodded with a grin.

"I will tell your father where you went." Ziva said before she left, even though they both knew he had heard the whole conversation.

Tali left the room and DiNozzo Senior turned to face Ziva, "She's a beauty, bet she's got all the boys chasing her."

She smiled, "Yes, it is not something Tony likes, but we are getting used to her dating."

"How long have you two been married?" He asked as Tony came back into the room with his coffee, "Thank you Junior."

"Two years on the twelfth." Tony answered, walking behind the recliner Ziva sat in, resting his hands on the back.

Senior took a sip of the coffee then looked at them quizzically, "But Tali-"

Tony sighed angry for his father once again showing up unannounced, "It's a long, very complicated story and if you cared to show up more often maybe you would know why we only recently got married and have a fifteen year old. But you don't and I really don't feel like explaining, so why don't you answer one of my questions instead. What are you doing here?"

The older man looked bristled, but ignored his son's tone and answered the question, "I was in town closing a deal and went to celebrate last night at Hannigan's Pub. The bartender recognized me and asked me how your family was doing. I was embarrassed to have to say that I had no idea you even had a family. I had to look up your address in the phone book back at the Hotel."

"Jesus Dad, we sent you an invitation to the wedding and I am pretty sure we even sent you a Christmas card, with a picture of all of us in it, this year. What else am I supposed to do?" Tony was seething and Ziva knew the blow up was coming.

"I moved from the last address you were given." Senior commented setting his coffee down on the table.

Ziva could feel it, the final shred of Tony's resolve breaking as his grip tightened on the back of the chair. "Well I _am _sorry! I apologize for not knowing where the hell you've moved to now. I haven't heard from you in ten years, but I do feel horrible that I wasn't aware you had moved!"

Tony stormed out of the room and Ziva flinched as the front door slammed behind him. She took a deep breath trying to remain calm and looked over at the elder DiNozzo.

"He will be back in a little while and I think it is best that you are not here when he returns." She stood and led him back to the front door.

"Goodbye Ziva, tell Junior I'm sorry." The words seemed sincere and she promised him she would relay the message even though she knew her husband wouldn't want to hear it.

Tali crept down the stairs slowly a few minutes later and Ziva smiled at her, "It is all clear ahava."

"What happened?" She asked looking around. "Everything seemed fine when I went upstairs."

Ziva shook her head, "Your father and grandfather have never had a good relationship and it seems that this was the breaking point for your Dad."

"That stinks." She said bending down to slip on her boots. "I knew Dad never really liked talking about him but I didn't know it was this bad."

"When your father was eight his mother died and his father didn't know what to do with him except to stick him in boarding schools and summer camps. Your father always resented him for the way he was raised." She explained as Tali put on her coat just before a car horn sounded outside.

"That's them, you'll be fine until Dad gets back?" She asked, the concern in her voice made Ziva smile.

"Yes, go have fun ahava." She kissed her forehead lightly. "He won't be long."

"Alright, I'll call you when we go to lunch." Tali promised before walking outside.

Ziva smiled to herself, her daughter was growing up entirely too fast. She made her way upstairs to take a shower, wanting to get something accomplished while Tony was out blowing off steam somewhere. She shed her pajamas and started running the water in the shower until it was warm enough for her to get in. She was about to get in when her foot stepped in something wet. At first she thought it was just water from the shower, but when a sharp pain ripped through her abdomen she knew the puddle on the floor was not from the shower and contrary to what she had told her daughter five minutes ago, she was no longer fine. Ziva was in labor, a week early, and she was all by herself.

**A/N: I do like me a cliffhanger :) So I will be closing the poll tomorrow before I go to school around 6 am (EST) I figure most of the voting is already finished but I thought I would still give you all a little more time just in case. Thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I think I've kept you waiting in suspense long enough, hmm? This will be a short authors note because I know you want to get to the story, but I had to mention that I was watching Major Crimes last night (show on TNT) and guess who was a guest star…..Michael Weatherly! I was squealing the whole entire episode! :D**

Chapter Seventeen

The next pain didn't come for another half hour after she had taken a shower and having already been through this once the timing didn't surprise her, it had been the same with Tali. She was angry with herself though, for not seeing the signs sooner. The previous day she had been having what she thought were Braxton Hicks contractions every few hours, she was in her eighth month, it was nothing to panic about and she knew if she had told Tony she would have been stuck in the hospital on Christmas Eve. Now Ziva was thinking how stupid that decision had been seeing as she was clearly farther along in the process, having mostly likely gone into labor the day before without knowing it.

After she dressed she tried calling Tony, but soon found his phone laying right beside her on the nightstand. He had only been gone half an hour and she knew he would be back soon; he just needed time to cool off. Ziva wasn't surprised by his reaction, knowing that he had never expected his father to show up in his life again after so many years without contact. She took a few deep breaths and busied herself with making sure the bag for the hospital was packed and the nursery was in order, he would be back in no time at all, she had nothing to worry about.

That was what she kept telling herself, until one hour alone turned into two and then quickly to three and after four hours she was in so much pain that she was ready to kill the next person that walked in the door. The option of driving herself to the hospital had long since passed and she couldn't imagine trying to walk down the hall to the nursery, where she had mistakenly left her phone, to call someone for help. Her contractions were only minutes apart and when she glanced at the clock again she did the math, finding that if she included yesterday's infrequent pains she had been in labor for almost 18 hours, even if she had been unaware for most of it. If Tony didn't come back soon it seemed that it was up to her to deliver their child.

Ziva was in the middle of a contraction when her mind registered the sound of the front door opening.

"Ziva? Tony?"

It was Gibbs, Tony still wasn't back, but she would take what she could get. "Up here!"

She listened, confused as two sets of feet made their way up the stairs, but then remembered that he and Jenny had come to drop off Tali's car.

"What are you doing up-" Gibbs stopped in the doorway, his words forgotten as he took her in, what was happening obvious to him having seen Shannon in the same pain all those years ago.

"Hello, Gibbs." She barely got the words out before she was overcome with pain and pressure once again.

The older man went into action immediately, "Jen, towels, blankets, something to tie the cord off with."

She nodded and left the room. Gibbs helped Ziva undress and draped a blanket from the end of the bed over her legs.

"Where the hell is DiNozzo?" He asked angrily, his hand held in a vice grip while they waited for Jenny to come back.

"His father…came….didn't go…well…left angry…thought he would be back sooner…happened faster than I expected…" She breathed out squeezing his hand lightly when the pain subsided, she looked up at him, her eyes scared and teary, "He was not supposed to miss this one Gibbs. I promised he wouldn't miss it, we planned it out with the doctor and he was going to be there. He cannot miss this Gibbs."

He cupped her cheek with his hand, "Ziver right now your safety and the baby's is what I'm concerned about. It's his own fault if he misses it."

"Do not say that he-" she was interrupted by another pain coupled with the urge to push.

"Jen!" Gibbs called her name just as she appeared in the room with the supplies.

She calmly handed him everything and went to stand by Ziva, taking her hand. "Everything is going to be okay Ziva, understand?" She too had seen a look of concern in her eyes.

Ziva nodded her head weakly and squeezed Jenny's hand.

" 'Kay Ziver, push."

Ziva cleared her mind of any thoughts that didn't concern bringing her child into this world safely and pushed with everything she had for the next thirty minutes. When she could tell she was getting close to the end she sent a prayer up that Tony would make it back in time. Miraculously the thought left her mind just moments before they all heard the front door open down stairs and Tony called out to her.

"Bout time." Gibbs grumbled from the end of the bed then in louder voice he yelled down to Tony, "Get your ass up here now, your kid's almost here!"

They heard something crash before Tony sprinted up the stairs and Ziva almost laughed at his disheveled and frenzied appearance when he entered the room.

"Ziva? God, I'm such an idiot. I should've come back sooner, I'm so sorry. What-" He had taken Jenny's spot beside his wife and stopped midsentence when she squeezed his hand to almost the point of breaking. "Right, later."

Gibbs rolled his eyes before glancing at Jenny who was now behind him, "Call a squad for transport to Bethesda, it won't be much longer."

"Alright, should I call Tali too?" She looked at Tony, but Ziva answered instead.

"She should be back soon." She said with a grimace the pressure and pain at its peak.

Gibbs saw the look and focused on the task at hand, "Push."

Ziva gritted her teeth, gripped Tony's hand and put all her energy into pushing. He was almost there, their baby was almost here and Tony would be there to see him take his first breath. She kept these thoughts running through her mind as Gibbs and Tony continued to encourage her to push. It felt like a lifetime and a second all at once as she made that final push and an infant's cry sounded loudly in her ears.

She collapsed against the pillows behind her and watched with a smile as Gibbs helped Tony to cut the cord.

The older man wrapped the baby in a blanket and carefully transferred the infant to her arms. "Congratulations, it's a girl."

Her eyes widened momentarily but softened upon seeing her baby girl for the first time "I am sorry we thought you were a boy hakatan sheli." Ziva whispered to her daughter kissing her forehead gently. "You are much too beautiful to be mistaken for a boy."

She looked over at Tony who was now crouched down by the bed to be level with his wife and daughter, "Benvenuta piccola." _Welcome little one._ "She is right, you are very beautiful."

Gibbs quietly left the room leaving the family alone for a few minutes before the EMTs arrived. They didn't take long and Ziva and the baby were being loaded into the back of an ambulance just as Jake pulled up in front of the house with Tali and Izzy.

Tony told one of the EMTs to wait a minute and met Tali in the middle of the yard. "Everything's fine. She had the baby here; they're both fine we're just going to the hospital to make sure they stay that way."

Tali looked at him bewildered by his words, "Wait, what?"

He smiled and hugged her tight, "Gibbs and Jenny are going to follow us, go with them and have Jake drive Izzy over to tell McGee and Abbs."

"Okay…" She was still overwhelmed and confused, but remembered to ask one thing before he got in the ambulance, "Wait, is it a boy or a girl?"

Tony smiled widely, "Girl. Congratulations big sister."

* * *

"We need a name for her." Tony looked up from the infant in his arms, fixing his gaze on Ziva, "We never picked out any girl names."

She shook her head and beckoned him over, making room for him on the hospital bed, "No, we did not."

"This is might be hard." He stood from the plastic chair by the bed and sat down next to his wife, carefully placing the baby in her arms. "How did you name Tali?"

Ziva did not answer right away, smoothing the dark curls down on her daughter's head, "It was hard, I did not have anyone to question if my decision on her name was right."

"I know, Zi I'm-"

"No." She interrupted, looking up at him, "I was just being honest with you, I did not say it to make you feel guilty."

"Okay." He pressed a kiss to her temple, "What made you pick the names you did?"

"Talia." She paused thinking about her sister. "When Tali, our Tali, was born she looked just like my little sister when she was a baby. I know you say she has my eyes, but in truth they are my sister's. They are just a shade lighter than my own and when our daughter was born and she opened her eyes for the first time, I knew what her first name would be. Some say the first name is the hardest to pick because that is what will define that child, that person, for the rest of their life, but with her it was so easy."

Tony slipped his finger into the tiny fist that was flailing around in front of them, "So I'm guessing that means her middle name was harder?"

Ziva nodded, "Her first name was so much a part of me and my life that I wanted her middle name to be something from you, even if you were not there. I played around with a few Italian names for a while, but nothing fit and I was determined not to name her after someone else, one person was enough, but then I thought of Kate. I remembered how much she meant to you, how close you two were and it just seemed right."

He smiled, "Thank you that means a lot."

"You are welcome Tony." She leaned up and kissed him, pulling back with a determined look in her eyes. "This time though, I do not want to name our daughter after anyone. She should have a name that is just for her."

"Alright, any ideas?" He looked down at the little girl holding onto his finger tight and agreed with her one hundred percent.

"Earlier, at home, you spoke to her in Italian." He nodded curiously so she continued, "I think that her first name should be something from your heritage."

Tony smiled, "That's a great idea."

Ziva returned the smile and looked at him expectantly.

"Whoa, wait you want me to come up with a name?" He questioned, looking at her oddly.

She rolled her eyes at him, "I will help, but I thought you at least might have an idea. Something from a story or memory, from when you were younger and went to spend summers with your grandmother."

"You remember me telling you that?" He didn't even remember telling her that, they rarely talked about their childhoods since both were unpleasant.

"Yes, when something is important to you, you get this look in your eyes when you talk about it. I make sure to always remember those conversations." She answered, her words full of love for him.

This time Tony initiated the kiss, but kept it brief so he didn't squash their unnamed daughter. "Well, there was this one year that my Nonna decided we should have a Christmas in July. She never got to see me for the actual holiday and thought that we should have our own little celebration. It wasn't huge or anything, but it was fun and it ended up being the best Christmas I'd ever had. Except for this year, this year I got you for Christmas." He paused, leaning down to kiss his daughter on the forehead. "Anyways, Nonna dug out this old Italian Christmas movie. I can't remember exactly what it was about, except for that the main character in it was named Natalina and that Natalina means 'Born on Christmas' in Italian. I guess technically we would be naming her after someone but-"

"It's perfect." Ziva whispered interrupting him again, but she kept her gaze fixed on their daughter. "Natalina."

A grin spread across Tony's face, "We could call her Lina for short."

She nodded her head and looked up at him with a smile to rival his own, "See, it was not so hard, you got it on the first try."

"I guess you're right. But since you think it's so easy why don't you pick out her middle name?" He teased, looking back down at Lina.

"Zara." She replied instantly, deflating Tony's ego a bit. "It means 'Shining' in Hebrew, and even though her eyes are blue now, I think they will turn green eventually and shine like yours do."

"Cheater, you were holding that in the whole time." He accused, pouting slightly. "But you made me go and tell my whole big, long story."

Ziva laughed, "I enjoy your stories Tony, do not be upset. So you like it then?"

"Yeah." The pout fell off his face and he looked at her and then the newborn in her arms. "Natalina Zara DiNozzo, perfect."

**A/N: So there you have it, baby DiNozzo has arrived! I lied in an earlier chapter, turns out there is going to be one more before an epilogue ;) Not a bad thing though right? Reviews are amazing! Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

"I am sorry about your father Tony." Ziva said unexpectedly.

Tony looked at her curiously as he handed her a burping cloth so she could wipe off her and the baby. They had just finished their first feeding, something Ziva had wanted him to see before they brought Tali and the rest of the family in to meet the new addition to their family. He was glad she had insisted on it because it was one of the most beautiful and intimate things he had ever seen and he knew he would cherish the memory forever.

"Why?" He questioned.

She sighed, "I just wish that you could have a better relationship with him. Before he left he asked me to tell you that he was sorry and I do not think he meant just about this morning."

Ziva handed Lina to him for burping and he stood and walked around the room patting her small form, "Sometimes Zi, I wish the exact same thing. But then I remember that if my life as a kid had been different I wouldn't be here right now holding our newborn and loving you as much as I do. My entire life would have been completely different from the one I have now."

They both heard a little burp escape Lina's lips and Tony sat back down in the chair by the bed, stroking her back tenderly.

"That might be true but that doesn't make it right." Ziva smiled sadly at him. "I love you Tony, but I will never stop wishing that your childhood had been a better one even if that means we never would have met."

He shifted Lina so he was able to securely cradle her in one arm so he could thread his fingers through Ziva's, "If you're gonna wish that then I will wish the same for you Zi, I'm not the only one with a screwed up childhood."

She squeezed his hand and wiped away a few of the tears that trickled down her cheeks, "But since neither of us can change the past I hope that both of our mothers are watching over our family and that they are proud of us."

Tony squeezed back, smiling "I'm sure they are Zi."

She smiled back and untethered her fingers from his, holding out her arms for Lina. "We should probably introduce her to her family. They must be very anxious by now."

"The nurse said two at a time, who do you want me to bring back first?" He asked after handing her back the baby.

"Tali and...Jake, he is becoming part of the family and I think she would want him to come with her." She replied as he stood to leave. "Is that alright with you?"

"Yep, it's fine with me." He said before walking out of the door.

Now alone with her baby, Ziva looked down at the warm sleeping bundle in her arms, "You are about to meet a very special person tatelah. She might be a few years older than you, but I think that you two will still be very close and she will always be looking out for you. She is smart and kind and she can teach you how to play all kinds of sports. She thought you were going to be a boy too, but I do not think she will mind having a little sister."

"Not in the least." Ziva looked over at Tali who had arrived in the doorway along with Jake and Tony.

"Come here." She beckoned with a smile.

Tali walked over to the bed and peered into the her mother's arms, "Wow I didn't expect her to be this little."

Ziva smiled, "You were this small once too ahava. Would you like to hold her?"

She took a half a step back, her eyes wide with worry "Um...I'm not so sure. What if I break her?"

"If I did fine, so will you." Tony laughed walking past Jake who was still standing in the doorway.

Ziva began handing her the baby and Tali could do nothing but carefully accept her little sister. "Shalom akhoti haktana," Hello my little sister " you are so beautiful, just like Ima. There will be lots of boys chasing after you in a few years, so you gotta promise me now that you'll be smart about them, because they'll be dumbstruck by you." Tali looked up and smiled at her parents. "What did you name her?"

"Her first name in Natalina, Lina for short, it means-"

"Born on Christmas." Jake said garnering everyone's attention. "That was my Nonna's name, she was born on Christmas Eve."

"Come here Jake." Tali said seeing that he hadn't taken one step into the room.

He walked up beside her and smiled at the sleeping infant, "Just as pretty as her big sister."

"You're too sweet." She replied kissing him on the cheek before turning back to her mom, "What's her middle name?"

"Zara, for her eyes that will hopefully turn green like your father's." Ziva answered glancing at Tony.

"I would love to stay here and hold you all day Lina but the rest of the family might get jealous." Tali walked back over to the bed and transferred Lina into her mother's arms. "Izzy texted me and said that her parents send their congratulations and that they will stop by later this evening so you didn't feel overwhelmed. I'll send Gibbs and Jenny in and then Jake is going to take me home."

At the mention of home Tony and Ziva exchanged glances, both thinking about the car that was still sitting in their driveway with a big red bow on it.

"That sounds good, but you should know that there's a surprise waiting for you at the house. We were going to give it to you this afternoon but obviously plans changed." Tony said, smiling at the confused look on his daughter's face.

"Alright." She replied warily her gaze flicking from one parent to the other.

"Do not worry, it is a good surprise." Ziva said smiling.

"Okay, well I'll probably be back tomorrow morning." She leaned down and kissed Lina on the forehead, "Goodbye baby sister, I love you."

Tali hugged each of her parents and she and Jake both waved goodbye before leaving the room. Once they had left Tony sat back down on the bed with his wife and daughter.

"A little sister and a car, I'd have to say she's having a pretty good Christmas." He joked stroking Lina's tiny fist.

She smiled at him, then looked down at their daughter, "You seem to be everyone's gift this year yakiri."

Lina's mouth opened in a yawn, forming a little 'o' that made them both coo at her.

"I'm sorry I missed this Zi." Tony whispered. "I couldn't imagine not having anyone to share these moments with."

Ziva turned back to him, adjusting Lina so she was able to lay a hand on his cheek, "No Tony, you promised a while ago that we were done with apologies. What happened, happened and though we sometimes want to change it, it is impossible. We have to forget about the past and make the most of our future."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. "You're right, just figured it couldn't hurt to break rule six one more time."

Ziva kissed him softly on the lips just before Jenny and Gibbs walked in. She sat back against Tony and watched as they each held Lina. They stayed a little longer than Tali and Jake had, but Ziva was more of an observer of their various conversations, her mind elsewhere.

Fifteen years ago when her life had fallen apart she could never have imagined that she would eventually find her way back to her family, that she would be sitting here with a loving husband and two beautiful daughters. Life had given them a huge bucket of lemons and thrown them a few curveballs but they had made the most of it, they were a family again and this was home.

THE END

**  
A/N: Well that's it folks :( I am sorry to have to say goodbye to this storyline and these characters. A huge thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited, alerted, etc. this story or the one before it. I never imagined when I posted the first chapter of 14 Years that I would get such a huge response.**

Now it's on to the next idea which right now I'm not really sure what that will be. I am still writing out ideas for the series of songfics I've been writing about T&Z titled 100 years.  
For any of you Beatles fans out there I am going to be rewriting the first two chapters of Savior(probably going to change the name on that) and then pick up from where I left off forever ago. I would love to do another long Tiva story but I don't have any ideas as of right now.

Once again thanks for all your support and encouragement!

Happy Reading and Writing,  
Katie


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